


Coming Full Circle

by heartsdesire456



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Abandonment, Divorce, F/M, Falling In Love Again, Family Issues, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Reunions, Romance, no infidelity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-13 15:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4526550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter never expected life to end up bringing him back to Beacon Hills nearly seventeen years after he left it, but when his estranged son's mother abandoned him without warning, it was up to Peter to go back and step up to be the parent he never really had been. Life trying to be Jackson's father was hard already, but little did he know that only six months into the struggle, his world was going to be shaken once more when the man he both married and divorced before he could legally drink walked right back into his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming Full Circle

**Author's Note:**

> I want to emphasize NO INFIDELITY! I tend to 'nope' out of fics where someone cheats on somebody else for the eventual pairing, so I wanted to make it clear that there is no cheating going on here.
> 
> Other than that, I just REALLY wanted some 'grown up' angst with a happy ending and what's better than a divorced couple falling in love again?

Peter sighed, looking at his watch again as he aimlessly rode the escalator up to the second floor and then back down to the first again. He was so bored of waiting that he was literally riding the escalators in circles. He spotted a guard looking at him funny and got off on the second floor and walked towards the padded benches set along the banister that looked down into the food court below and settled with his legs stretched out beside him. He had just pulled his sunglasses out and put them on in hopes he might actually fall asleep when he heard an increasingly familiar voice.

“Mr. Hale!” Peter pushed his sunglasses up and raised an eyebrow when he saw the Mahealani boy walking towards him. “Is Jackson here?” he asked, and Peter sat up, smiling slyly as he spotted the boy holding Danny’s hand.

“Oh please, I’ve told you a thousand times to call me Peter, Danny. Who’s your friend?” he asked, looking the boy over. He was cute, for a kid. (Peter wasn’t a total creep, after all.)

Danny smiled shyly. “This is my boyfriend, Ethan. Ethan, this is Jackson’s dad,” he introduced.

The boy raised an eyebrow. “Jackson’s last name isn’t Hale,” he said skeptically, and Peter narrowed his eyes at the little smartass.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that, too. Crazy, huh?” he drawled, making the boy give him an annoyed look. Peter chuckled, amused. “His mother’s last name is Whittemore, she named him after her.”

Danny opened his mouth, only to stop when he spotted something past Peter. “Oh hey, there’s Jackson with Allison now!”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Greaaaat. Everybody loves Allison. Yay Allison.”

Danny frowned. “What’s wrong with Allison?” he asked and Peter shrugged.

“Nothing, except Jackson thinks she’s the coolest person ever and I’m not allowed to meet her and ruin her perception of him, apparently.” Peter made a face. “If she’s that great, no way in hell is she going to go out with Jackson.”

Danny snorted. “Oh definitely not. She’s new here, just moved here or something, but Lydia says she already likes this weird, geeky kid. Not Jackson.” Danny smiled and waved. “Hey, Jackson, hey, Allison,” he said and Peter glanced over his shoulder and stood up as Jackson walked up with a tall, pretty girl.

“So this is Allison,” Peter said, and Jackson glared at him from behind her. He held out a hand and when Allison took it he kissed the back of her hand, making her blush and giggle. Jackson made a disgusted look.

“Peter, please-“

Peter groaned, rolling his eyes. “For the last time, will you stop calling me that?”

Allison looked between Jackson and Peter curiously. “Who’s this, Jackson?” she asked, and Peter interrupted before Jackson could be a smartass.

“Hi, I’m Peter Hale, Jackson’s dad,” he introduced and she frowned at Jackson.

“You call your dad by his name? That’s weird,” she said, then smiled at Peter. “Hi, Mr. Hale, I’m Allison Argent.”

Peter nearly missed what she said as he waved a hand. “Please, call me Peter- wait… Argent?” he asked in surprise. He hadn’t heard that last name in a long time. It wasn’t the most common name, he knew that. He cleared his throat. “Well, it’s nice to meet you,” he said, pushing past the awkward pause. It was a coincidence, nothing more. “So how-“

“Allison! There you are.” 

Peter shut his eyes as a curse slipped past his lips.

“Holy fuck.”

It wasn’t a coincidence. It wasn’t a coincidence at all.

When Peter opened his eyes, his breath stuttered to a halt when he spotted the last man he had ever expected to see again walking their way. He clearly hadn’t seen Peter yet, because the smile on his face as he looked at Allison wouldn’t be there if he had.

Allison confirmed his worst suspicions when she smiled brightly. “Hey, Daddy, you found us!” She hugged him in greeting. “Dad, this is Jackson’s-“

Peter physically flinched when Chris Argent looked at him and blurted out, “Peter?!” in an absolutely horrified tone.

Peter chuckled awkwardly, wishing more than anything the mall would catch fire and he could all run away without looking like a pussy. “Christopher,” he said, staring at him uncomfortably. After a moments awkward silence that seemed to stretch forever, he rocked on his heels some, then nodded to Allison. “So. You’ve got a daughter. That’s… that’s something,” he muttered as his false tone began to sound even too fake for him to push through.

Allison looked between them curiously. “You know my dad?”

Peter smiled sarcastically. “Yeah, you could say that, my dear.” He leveled Chris a pissy look as the shock faded some. “He’s my ex-husband.”

“What?!” Jackson cried loudly just as Allison gaped at her father. “You’ve been _married_ -“

“Dad, why didn’t we know-“

“TO A MAN?!” Jackson all but shouted, attracting strange looks from people on all sides.

Peter sighed, rolling his eyes. “Yes, Jackson, I was married to a man-“

“Could we maybe do this somewhere else, less public?” Chris asked Jackson in a low tone. “Your friend’s past isn’t something to shout across the mall.”

“Father,” Peter corrected, and Chris looked at him in confusion. “Jackson is my son,” he said, and Chris gaped. “Oh what? Clearly you reproduced, too!” he grumbled, gesturing to Allison.

Jackson gave Peter a disgusted look and turned away. “I’m going over to Danny’s tonight,” he said, and Danny gave Peter and awkward wave, having been caught in the middle of all of that, and dragged his boyfriend with him as they followed Jackson’s brisk pace as he escaped.

Peter sighed dramatically, running a hand over his face. “Allison, it was nice to meet you, but I think I should probably go talk to Jackson, now.” He nodded to her then glanced at Chris and harrumphed wordlessly as he turned and headed back to the escalator, ready to get out of that damn mall with at least a tiny bit of dignity still intact.

~

“I can’t believe you never mentioned you’re gay,” Jackson muttered unhappily from the passenger seat. Peter had caught up to Jackson and told him to come home with him, not Danny, because they needed to talk about what had happened at the mall, but Jackson was _not_ happy about it.

Peter looked in the mirror as he signaled to turn, not daring to glance at Jackson. “I’m not gay, Jackson. You’re proof of that.”

“Well you never were married to Mom, so it doesn’t mean that much,” Jackson countered. “Although now I can guess why you didn’t ever marry her. Was she who you cheated on your husband with?” he asked and Peter clenched his jaw, unable to react without revealing to Jackson how low that blow had been.

“I didn’t cheat on my ex-husband.”

“Then how is he your ex-husband?” Jackson argued. “You’re not that old, Peter. I’m sixteen, Allison is seventeen, how else are either of us explainable? Did he cheat on you and get Allison’s mom pregnant and leave you for her?” he asked without any hesitation or guilt, clearly trying to get at Peter. 

Peter winced slightly as he remembered the day he packed his bags. “Chris didn’t leave. I did. And Allison is about a year too young to be the reason.”

Jackson looked at him. “How is there _time_ for you to have been married to him?”

“Because I married Chris exactly ten hours after I turned eighteen, Jackson,” Peter said in a flat voice, trying to keep all the emotion out of his head, even though his white knuckles on the steering wheel told his lie. “Chris was a few months from twenty, and on my eighteenth birthday he picked me up from school after first period and after his first class of the day at college and we went to the courthouse and got married a year and a half later, I packed my bags and moved back home and we got divorced and for the past eighteen years, I haven’t seen or heard from him.”

Jackson was quiet after that, allowing Peter’s head to fill full of things he had forced down long ago for the rest of the drive home. 

It was only about an hour later, after Jackson had been in his room for a while and hadn’t come out again, that Peter gave up on the idea of cooking anything after standing in front of the refrigerator aimlessly. He closed the door and stepped back until his back hit the counter and he gave into the oppressive force he’d felt all afternoon and slid down the cabinets until his legs stretched out in front of him. He leaned his head back against the cabinet door and let his head thump against it a few times as the memories he’d fought filled his head.

~

_Peter had only known Chris a few months, but he just knew, in spite of what his sister had said about him sneaking around with an older boy, that Chris was The One. He was everything a boy should be. He was everything a person should be. He hadn’t told his parents about Chris, because he knew they would disapprove of him dating a boy two years older than him, but Talia had caught them at the bowling alley on a date and, though she disapproved, she seemed to like Chris after talking to him for a while._

_He watched as Chris finished getting his shoes back on and stood from the bed when Chris was done. He waited with a smirk as Chris looked for his plaid shirt only to glance up and realize Peter was wearing it still. Chris chuckled, rolling his eyes, and walked over to him, stopping when they were toe to toe. “I sort of need this,” Chris murmured softly as he started undoing the buttons. Peter bit back a grin as Chris’s eyes lingered on each bit of skin revealed as he opened the shirt, only to have his hands shake slightly when he undid the shirt all the way and saw Peter was naked under it. Peter smiled smugly as Chris pushed it slowly off his shoulders, leaning in to kiss the top of one and then kiss his neck as he pulled it off Peter’s arms. “You’re so beautiful,” Chris whispered as he kissed Peter’s cheek, then stepped back and swung the shirt on, buttoning it up over his tee-shirt._

_Peter chuckled, sliding his arms around Chris’s neck, hanging onto him so he couldn’t leave just yet. “C’mon, can’t you just give me my surprise_ now _?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. “It’s gotta be something sexy, right?”_

_Chris shook his head, hands sliding down Peter’s bare back. “Tomorrow’s your birthday, not now.”_

_Peter tutted. “Nuh-uh, it’s one in the morning, I’m officially eighteen,” he rebutted. “C’mon, Christopher,” he purred, leaning in to kiss him slowly, nipping at his lip filthily. “Stay and give it to me now.”_

_Chris gave him a loving smile, one that made Peter’s fingers and toes tingle, because he could see so much truth in Chris’s eyes and knew that Chris felt the same thing he did. “Well, I can’t_ do it _right now, but I guess it’s best not to spring it on you when I bust you out of school,” he said and Peter perked up._

_“Oh good, you’re still picking me up?” he asked, and Chris nodded, curling his arms around Peter to hold him close._

_Chris leaned their foreheads together. “I love you, Peter. I know I’ll always love you. I can’t imagine my life without you.”_

_Peter’s heart thumped hard in his chest and he nodded. “I know. I feel the same.”_

_Chris smiled at him so beautifully that Peter wanted to never look away from Chris’s beautiful eyes ever again. “Tomorrow, before I pick you up, I’m gonna go pick up something I bought last week, I was gonna surprise you, cause I’m pretty sure I know what your answer will be, but I already stole your birth certificate from your mom’s office when I sneaked in last week and I made us an appointment at eleven-thirty to pick up a marriage license and get married before I have to get you back to school in time to meet your sister.”_

_Peter only managed to hold in a loud squeal of happiness by sheer force of knowing how dead he’d be if his parents found out Chris had been sneaking in some nights for the past month and having sex with him. “Holy shit,_ Chris _,” he breathed, breath hitching as joy every molecule of his body. “Oh my God, you’re gonna marry me?!” he asked and Chris nodded, holding him tight._

_“Our parents will be really fucking pissed, but they just don’t understand,” Chris said, shaking his head. “I don’t care if you’re still in high school, Peter. I love you. I’m always going to love you.” He cupped his cheek, eyes shining with so much love and devotion Peter wanted to scream and dance from happiness._

_Peter shook his head, laughing a bit hysterically. “God I love you too, Chris, so fucking much.” He kissed him hard, pulling back to lean their foreheads together again. “I wanna get married now, and in a few weeks, when I’ve graduated and you’ve finished this semester, we can get an apartment, we can start our life together. I don’t wanna wait to build a life with you.”_

_Chris nodded. “I’ll meet you outside the gym at ten-thirty. I’ll have wedding rings and your birth certificate and we can be married before your sister gets there to pick you up.”_

_Peter snickered. “They’re gonna be so mad when I get home and tell them.”_

_“I’ll come with you,” Chris promised. “If they get too pissed, we can go to my dad’s hunting cabin and stay the weekend. Give them time to cool off.”_

_Peter sighed, laying his head on Chris’s shoulder, snuggling close. “Now I really don’t want you to go where I can’t touch you.”_

_Chris kissed his head. “If I get caught, we can’t get married tomorrow.”_

_Peter pulled back and beamed as he shoved Chris towards the window some. “Then you better get your ass out of here, because this time tomorrow night, you better be my husband, Christopher,” he said and Chris turned and went to the open window and sat on the sill. He grabbed Peter’s hand and pulled him into one last kiss before crawling through the window._

_He ducked his head back in and grinned. “Don’t forget, ten-thirty.”_

_Peter nodded eagerly. “I’ll be there,” he said, and then watched as Chris crawled down to the side of the porch roof and slid over the edge and shimmied down the porch column. As always, he waited until he saw Chris running across the lawn and into the trees before he shut the window and went back to bed._

_It would be the last night he went to bed a single boy, because tomorrow night he would be a married man._

~

Peter couldn’t sleep as he laid awake, remembering the night before he and Chris got married as well as the day they actually made the foolish, childish decision to fucking get married without telling anybody. They had been so happy, and so in love, but looking back, he knew they were both just stupid children. 

Looking back, as the parent of a teenage boy, he really did understand why his family had reacted the way they did.

~

 _Peter felt none of the usual fear or anxiety as he and Chris got out of Chris’s jeep and headed up to his front porch, hands linked between them. The weight of his new wedding ring made him want to scream and dance and shout to the whole world that he was married. Nothing could touch the happiness he felt as he looked at his_ husband _._

_As they walked into the house, Peter looked around. “Mom? Dad?” He knew Talia wasn’t there. She was supposed to pick him up from school, but he had decided to go straight home while she wasn’t there to harp on him and tell his parents without her judgmental glares._

_“Peter? Why are you home early sweet… heart.” Peter turned and saw his mother coming out of her office, only to look between him and Chris curiously._

_It had only gone downhill from there._

_After Peter’s father came downstairs and they all sat, Peter dropped the news on them and the_ freaked out _. His mother, a lawyer, started spouting things about annulment and how they could fix this and how Peter didn’t have to worry because she could undo his mistake and his father had started yelling about how he had no idea Peter was a dirty queer and how dare Christopher have been sleeping with his underage son and… by the end of it, Peter was in tears and Chris was_ angry _._

_Chris had actually yelled at Peter’s father that he loved him, he had married him, and he didn’t care what he thought about Chris being a man, because Peter was happy and they should only care about their son’s happiness._

_Peter had yelled at his mother for having the gall to suggest their marriage was a mistake to be fixed, because he loved Chris with all his heart and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him, so why not start early?_

_In the end, Chris and Peter left the house without even grabbing Peter some clothes or anything, to upset to spend another moment being berated for their love. On the way out the door, Peter’s mother had stood in the front hall and shouted, “Peter Hale, if you don’t come back here right now-“_

_But Peter had cut her off by simply turning around from his spot at the bottom of the steps and said coldly, “It’s Peter Argent, now,” before walking away, leaving his mother in stunned silence as he and Chris got into Chris’s jeep and drove away without a backwards glance._

_Peter didn’t speak to his mother or father for the final few weeks he lived with them after that._

~

Chris was in shock the whole drive home, so he didn’t really notice that Allison wasn’t speaking to him until the next afternoon when he picked her up from school and she didn’t answer his questions about her day. It was only late that night, when he was out on the patio drinking tea and looking at the sky in hopes he might somehow find some relief from the memories that had been assaulting him and the fears that had been swimming in his mind since the previous afternoon, that Allison came out the backdoor in her pajamas and one of his sweatshirts and crawled onto the bench beside him. 

“Daddy,” she said softly and he looked at her with a tired smile.

“Can’t sleep, Sweetheart?” he asked, and she nodded, looking at him curiously. He sighed. “Me neither.”

Allison pulled her knees up into the sweatshirt and picked at the sleeves. “Dad… does mom know?”

He chuckled weakly. “She knows I was married before her. I don’t know if she knows it was a man or not, though. I never told her the person’s name, and I never wanted to talk about it, but she’s spent enough time with my sister over the years it might have come up.”

“So your family knows you’re- you were married to a man?” she asked, and he nodded. “Dad, why didn’t you ever mention that you’re bisexual?”

Chris sighed, leaning back against the back of the bench. “It wasn’t relevant, I guess. I married your mother eighteen years ago. It didn’t matter anymore.” He smiled sadly. “I’m not ashamed of it, or anything. I just never had a reason to talk about it. Or him.”

Allison nodded, looking more pale than usual in the moonlight. “How…” She hesitated. “Did you know he lived here?”

“I didn’t think about it,” Chris admitted. “I guess if I had thought about it, I’d have allowed for the possibility I might run into my ex-husband one day, but honestly, if I hadn’t seen him, I’d have never thought Peter Hale was still in Beacon Hills. I grew up here, but after he and I got divorced, we both left, as far as I know. I think the last I heard from my divorce lawyer was that he had moved to Washington with his sister and I moved to LA before I met your mom and moved to Texas with her.” He snorted. “I’m really shocked he’s your friend’s dad. I never would’ve thought Peter would’ve had children.”

Allison hummed. “Well, Jackson’s last name isn’t Hale, and Jackson calls him ‘Peter’ so maybe you weren’t so wrong.” She looked at Chris curiously. “Are you… okay? I mean, you’ve been sort of weird.”

Chris smiled sadly, putting an arm around her shoulders. “I’m okay, Allison. It’s just weird,” he said bluntly. “I don’t generally think ‘oh yeah, I used to be married to someone else’, so it isn’t something I ever think that much about. It was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, but you’re not that old,” Allison said, looking at him with a slight frown. “How were you and Jackson’s dad married? I’m seventeen and Jackson’s sixteen.”

Chris grimaced. “I’m going to give you some advice: if a boy asks you to marry him on your eighteenth birthday and promises you he can take care of everything like an apartment and all your bills and stuff?” He shook his head. “Don’t believe him. He might mean well, but he has no damn clue what real life is like. I had the stupid, stupid idea to steal Peter’s birth certificate from his mother, buy wedding rings, and pick him up from school the day of his eighteenth birthday and go marry him, even though I was in college and didn’t have a job.”

“Why? Why would you have thought that was a good idea?” Allison asked, looking at him incredulously.

Chris smiled sadly. “Because when you’re nineteen, almost twenty, and you’re ridiculously in love with someone just as ridiculously in love with you, especially if it’s for the first time for both of you, you don’t think with your brain, you think with your heart.” He shook his head. “We’d only been together for a few months, and Peter was seventeen so it wasn’t even legal at that, but I was so sure we were always going to be happy together and that I could take care of everything for him and all that sappy, non-realistic bullshit. It only lasted for a few months, and then within a year, we pretty much resented everything about each other, and another six months after that, he finally packed his bags and left me, and honestly?” He shrugged. “I was relieved he was gone.”

Allison laid her head on his shoulder, hugging him. “That’s so sad,” she said and he chuckled.

“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when children think they’re ready to be grown-ups,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “I thought I knew better than my parents, and I’m not trying to pull some ‘I’m your dad, you should listen to me’ crap, but I’m being totally genuine when I say that. Always question adults, Allison, because some of them might be trying to lead you off the right path, but a lot of the times, they really, really do know more than you do.”

She smiled. “You wish you’d listened to your parents?” she asked, and he hesitated.

Chris smiled sadly, feeling a sharp pang at the memories. “I don’t know. I should say ‘yes’, since I’m your dad, but honestly?” He rubbed her arm. “I don’t think I could’ve learned some of the life lessons I did without making my own mistakes. It wasn’t my fault, or Peter’s fault. We were just kids in love. We didn’t know that your first love never lasts. And if I hadn’t learned from that, I might not have ended up marrying your mom, and I might not have had you.” He hugged Allison close. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

Allison smiled when she pulled back. “I love you, too, Daddy,” she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she climbed off the bench. “I’m gonna go to bed. You should too,” she said, and he nodded in agreement.

“Goodnight, Pumpkin.”

~

Allison and Jackson sat across from each other at lunch and Jackson refused to look at her, even when she was talking to the rest of the table. When there was a lull in the conversation, she sighed. “Jackson, are we going to talk about it?”

Jackson gave her a panicked look. “No, we are not going to talk about it! We’re going to suppress and deny!”

“Jackson we really should at least acknowledge we’re both in an awkward place,” she said gently. “You won’t even look at me.”

Lydia narrowed her eyes. “Did you two have sex?” she asked, and Jackson flushed while Allison made a face.

“No, Lydia, I did not steal your boyfriend-“

“Ex-boyfriend,” Lydia said and Jackson rolled his eyes.

“This week,” he said and Lydia gave him a mean look.

“If you are an asshole, I won’t take you back,” she said in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Danny smirked. “Just admit it, Jackson,” he said and Stiles nodded.

“It’s okay to come out to us, we all hate you already, telling us you’re gay won’t make it any worse,” he said and Scott kicked his foot, glaring at him. “What?! We do hate him!”

Jackson groaned. “God I forgot Danny knows-“

Allison cleared her throat. “Jackson, can we please at least compare what our dads told us about them being married?” she asked and Stiles choked on his water, nearly spewing it on Danny’s boyfriend.

“YOUR DADS ARE MARRIED?!” he squawked. 

Allison grimaced. “No, they’re exes. And we didn’t know this. I didn’t even know my dad was married before my mom until we ran into Jackson’s dad and then my dad came up and they both sort of freaked out.”

Jackson grumbled. “Yeah, well, Peter is always a freak.”

Allison gave him a look. “Hey, your dad isn’t a freak for being bisexual, neither is my dad. They just have secrets.”

Jackson dropped his hands, looking at her flatly. “Did you know your dad married him before my grandparents even knew Peter liked boys?”

“Your dad was underage, they couldn’t be together in public,” Allison defended. “Jackson, it’s not like they hid a murder they committed, they were just dumb kids in love-“

“Peter has no heart, he doesn’t know how to love,” Jackson countered. “He probably tricked your dad into marrying him so he wouldn’t have to go to college or something.”

Allison gave him a judgmental look, shaking her head. “Why do you hate your dad so much? Your best friend is gay, do you really care that much he was married to a man-“

“I didn’t like my father before this,” Jackson interrupted. “I don’t give a shit who he married, because I don’t give a shit about him. Peter Hale is a selfish asshole and if anything, I feel bad for your dad having had to deal with a year and a half of him.”

Scott frowned. “Didn’t your dad give you his Porsche when he moved here? Should you really be calling him selfish?”

Jackson gave him a flat look. “So he doesn’t have to deal with me more than absolutely required. The only reason he drove me the other day is because his car was getting new tires and he wanted to buy new shoes.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Your dad lets you come and go as you please, he gives you money whenever you want it, he gave you a _Porsche_ , and he has excellent fashion sense. Why are you complaining?”

“Because I hate him?” Jackson offered and Danny held up his hands, letting it drop.

Allison shrugged. “I just thought we should talk about it, is all. I mean, it’s not every day you find out your new friend’s dad was married to your dad when they were teenagers.”

Lydia nudged Allison. “What does your mom think about all of this?” she asked and Allison hesitated.

“I’m… not sure she knows,” Allison admitted. “She hasn’t come here yet. She’s finishing dealing with stuff for her business back in San Francisco,” she explained.

“And your dad hasn’t told her?!” Lydia asked and Allison shrugged.

“I don’t know. I haven’t mentioned it because I don’t want to be the one to say it if she hasn’t heard yet. Dad says she may not even know he was married to a man before, but he thinks she does know it was a man and that his name was Peter,” she said quickly. “So she might know. I just don’t know if she does.”

Stiles whistled. “Well that’s gonna be awkward as hell. This is a small town. Chances are she’ll run into him eventually,” he said and Allison winced.

“Probably.”

~

Peter had been coming to Jackson’s lacrosse games since the season started, so he didn’t think twice about going the Friday after running into Chris Argent. It was only when he spotted Chris with Jackson’s friends that he realized he’d probably made a mistake. He started to turn around and make his escape to the visitors’ side of the field, but before he could, Lydia saw him.

“Over here, Mr. Hale!” she called and he turned to fix a smile on his face when he looked at her.

“Hello, Lydia,” he said as he approached her. She nodded to the seat beside her with a sweet smile.

“Saved you a spot since it’s so crowded.” She offered him one of the school-colored cushions. “Even brought Jackson’s cushion for you since the metal is really cold tonight.”

Peter studiously avoided looking at Chris by taking the cushion and sitting beside Lydia. “Thank you, Lydia. I take it you and Jackson are dating again this week?” he asked, barely reigning in the amused part of him that found their little on and off thing hilarious.

She shrugged. “May as well. Danny’s boyfriend’s twin isn’t as attractive and the Winter Formal is coming up. I need the cutest boy for the photos and Jackson has your bone structure,” she said and Peter snickered.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He grinned. “Besides, doesn’t that other boy have a motorcycle? You can’t go to the dance on a motorcycle, it’ll ruin your hair,” he said and she nodded seriously.

“See, Mr. Hale, this is why you’re my favorite,” she said as she grabbed his arm. She turned to Allison, who was beside her. “Jackson’s dad is definitely my favorite grown-up in this town,” she said and Peter glanced at Allison, who offered a perfectly nice but awkward smile. “I’m definitely going to have to bring him with us next time we go shopping,” she said excitedly.

Allison gave Peter a confused smile before looking back to Lydia. “You… take your boyfriend’s dad shopping with you?”

Lydia laughed. “Of course! It’s _Peter Hale_!”

Peter gave her a polite smile. “Until recently, I worked in LA as a stylist,” he explained to Allison.

“Oh really? That’s pretty cool,” Allison said, still smiling. “Do you just go around buying better clothes for your family?” she asked.

Peter hesitated. “Well, I don’t really see my family. My parents have both passed and my sister and her family live in Washington. My nephew still lives here, but I don’t see him very often. I moved to LA when he was really small so we never got close,” he said, trying not to sound too awkward.

“He talked Jackson into wearing more colors, though,” Lydia piped up. “Jackson was so anti-pastels but they look really pretty with his eyes.”

Peter grinned at Lydia. “Well with his coloring, all colors compliment him. He may have my bone structure, but the light hair and fair skin are something I can’t take credit for.”

For the first half of the game, he and Lydia both cheered for Jackson while Allison joined them and occasionally cheered for the boy Lydia told him she liked. He wasn’t the best player on the team, but when he took off his helmet at halftime, Peter could see why Allison liked him with his giant puppy eyes he turned on her. “C’mon,” Lydia said, grabbing Allison’s hand. “Let’s go talk to him!” she said, dragging Allison up and down the row past Peter.

Peter was left sitting with nothing but the small gap two girls took up between him and Chris. They glanced at each other and then awkwardly looked elsewhere. After a bit of an uncomfortable silence, Peter was surprised that Chris made things all the more awkward by speaking. “I’m sorry to hear about your parents. Was it recent?” he asked.

Peter glanced over, shaking his head. “No. Years ago now. You’ll remember they had me pretty late in life.”

Chris nodded. “Still sorry to hear about it. They were nice people.”

Peter snorted, rolling his eyes. “You hated my parents,” he accused and Chris shrugged.

“Doesn’t change that I’m sorry for your loss,” he said and Peter gave him a polite nod.

“Thanks.” After a further silence, Peter figured he may as well attempt to make small talk since the silence was far more oppressive. “So, is Allison your only child or do you have more?”

“Just Allison,” Chris said with a more genuine smile as he looked down at Allison and Lydia leaning over the fence to talk to the boys. “Is Jackson the only one for you and your wife?” he asked.

Peter made a face. “I was never married to Jackson’s mother, and yes, Jackson’s an only child.”

Chris winced. “Oh yeah. I think I heard that before.” He looked over at Peter. “Did you move back here recently, or…?”

“Yep,” Peter said, awkwardly putting his hands between his thighs to stop fidgeting. “About six months ago now. Jackson’s mom…” He cringed. “Well, I don’t really know what happened. I guess she had a breakdown or something.” He glanced at Chris. “She sent him to my sister all the way in Washington to and told her she had to go ‘find herself’ or something. I moved back here as soon as I could since his whole life is here.”

Chris just stared in shock. “She just _left_ him?” he asked and Peter nodded with a shrug.

“Jackson doesn’t like to talk about it, but everybody pretty much knows what happened. It’s a small town. When someone just leaves for South America without her kid with no plans to come back and no contact number, it’s a pretty big gossip story.” Peter shook his head. “Jackson won’t talk about her so I don’t know if it was a long time coming or what. The ladies at the bank say she didn’t even give notice at work she was leaving, she just left one day.”

Chris looked a head uncomfortably but nodded. “Well. It’s good he’s got a dad willing to drop everything and come here, then.” He gave Peter a small smile. “He’s lucky to have you.”

Peter groaned, rolling his eyes. “Oh if only he could believe it,” he said, giving Chris a wry grin. “Teenagers, huh?”

Chris let out a startled but genuine laugh. “Yeah, I guess we know pretty damn well how skewed a teenager’s thought process is.”

Peter snickered. “Oh at least I don’t seem to have to worry about him and Lydia eloping,” he said and Chris let out a sound that was practically a giggle as he tried not to laugh at all.

“Hopefully Allison is smarter than I ever was,” Chris joked.

Peter grinned. “Better be sure, cause I’m pretty sure the little puppy-eyed kid is younger than her, and we all know how that ended for you.”

Chris groaned. “Thanks, Peter, now I’m going to be obsessed over Allison trying to elope with him.”

Peter chuckled. “What about her mother? Does she share your concerns over Allison eloping with a strange boy?” he joked.

“Not exactly,” Chris said, shaking his head. “She’s still in San Francisco. She had a business she needed to finish dealing with before she can come join us. So, she hasn’t heard Allison talking about the cute boy she met as much as I have.”

Peter looked at him searchingly. “Why Beacon Hills? I sure as hell never planned to come back here.”

Chris chuckled. “My mother passed a few years back and my father’s getting pretty old. My sister came back after college and she keeps going on about how Gerard isn’t getting any younger and he doesn’t even know Allison. We move a lot, so there wasn’t much of a reason to not. My wife didn’t like leaving her job, but I can work anywhere, like always.”

“What do you do?” Peter asked.

“I’m a weapons dealer,” Chris said and Peter did a double take. “Legally,” Chris said, rolling his eyes at him. “I’m not confessing to arming drug lords or something.”

Peter leaned back some, looking at him curiously. “At least I know who to call in the event of a zombie apocalypse,” he said and Chris smiled, shaking his head.

When Lydia and Allison returned Lydia smiled pleasantly. “Well look at that! They didn’t kill each other after all,” she said as she and Allison retook their places between Chris and Peter. “I told you divorced couples aren’t all like my parents,” she said to Allison, who just gave her an incredibly awkward smile, making Peter snicker, even though he was the one she was uncomfortable with.

~

Sitting around at home got really old really fast for Peter. He got so bored just doing nothing all the time. There wasn’t much to do in Beacon Hills. He was walking around downtown one day, seeing what shops were still around from his youth (not many) and discovering the new ones, when he found a coffee shop that served alcohol and lunch. He liked the way it had a seating area out front under a vine-covered trellis next to a fountain. 

What he didn’t like was how it was on Main Street and he kept having people from his youth who hadn’t seen him in the six months he’d been keeping to his house for the most part recognize him and start talking to him when they passed by. So when a shadow fell over his book, he sighed and looked up, only to blink when he saw who was standing near him. “Peter Hale. Never thought I’d see you here again,” John Stilinski said and Peter smiled.

“Hi, Sheriff,” he said, gesturing across the table. “Care to sit?”

John hummed and went over to sit. “So. Derek mentioned you were coming back a while ago but he never said you stayed,” he opened with.

Peter smiled tightly. “Well, Jackson’s mother never did show up again. I couldn’t uproot him from his life like that.”

“I understand that,” he said, chuckling. “My son’s his age. They’re on the lacrosse team together.”

Peter groaned. “Oh my God, our children are the same age?!” He shook his head with a sigh. “Can’t believe the same deputy who used to pick me up for underage drinking has a child the same age as mine.”

John laughed and started to say something but looked over Peter’s shoulder instead. “Oh thanks, I could’ve gone in and got my own coffee,” he said and Peter glanced up, only to raise an eyebrow in surprise when he saw Chris coming towards their table.

“I was getting mine so it’s no… Peter,” Chris said, stopping beside the table.

John looked between them. “Do you two know each other?” he asked

Peter chuckled. “You probably could say that.” He nodded to Chris. “You may not have known him back then, but Chris grew up here, too.”

“Oh yeah? I thought your family was new to town,” John said and Chris shook his head.

“My parents lived here most of their lives. My father getting on in years is why I moved my family back.” He looked at Peter. “Um, Peter and I know each other from back when we were kids.”

Peter gave John an awkward smile. “His daughter is friends with Jackson.” John let out an ‘oh’ and nodded, but Peter continued. “And we were married for a year.”

John nearly choked on his coffee, looking at him. “Oh. _Oh._. Wow, I didn’t know that.”

Chris laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, it’s a- a story, alright.” He cleared his throat. “Our kids didn’t actually… know. About either of us.”

Peter gave John an apologetic look. “That’s why you’ve had to give Jackson two speeding tickets the past few weeks. He’s showing out because he found out his new friend’s dad is my ex-husband. Sorry about him, he’s an annoying little shit,” he explained.

Chris snickered. “He’s not that bad. He’s just a sixteen year old. Allison wore only black for a month one of the times we moved when she was fifteen because she was sick of us moving all the time.”

Peter snorted. “Black clothes doesn’t run up my car insurance bill. He’s lucky I’m not poor.” He waved a hand. “Besides, Allison seems like a really sweet girl. She and Lydia are already fast friends and whenever she’s around, she’s as sweet as can be.” He gave Chris a pointed look. “She even offers to wash the dishes she uses at my house, Chris. Your daughter is just like you.”

Chris laughed. “Thanks. I guess we didn’t do a terrible job with her after all.” He looked at his watch. “Sheriff, we really should get back to your office and look at some numbers,” he said, and John nodded.

“Oh yeah, sure.” He stood up, raising his coffee at Peter. “It was nice talking to you, Hale. I’ll tell Derek to stop being so brusque and call you sometime,” he said and Peter rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, and I’m gonna grow fur,” he scoffed, making Chris grin and hide a smile in his coffee. “Bye Sheriff, bye Chris,” he said with a wave before turning back to his book.

~

“No, Lydia, I know the dress is pretty but orange is horrible with your hair,” Peter chastised, grabbing the hanger from her. He put it back on the rack and she sighed.

“But Mr. Hale, it fits so perfectly-“

“And you will look like a Halloween ad,” he argued, slapping her hand when she reached past him. “Ahhhn!” he glared. “No.”

Lydia grumbled. “You’re lucky I trust you,” she said with a huff.

“You’re lucky you’re fun and fashionable and I grace you with my free advice,” Peter said, following her around the rack.

“Whatever, you’d have no friends if it wasn’t for me,” Lydia joked. She spun around. “What do you think about- Allison!” She perked up, a bright smile on her face. 

Peter turned around and smiled when he saw Allison come up to hug Lydia. “Hey Allison, what’re you up to?” he asked, and she smiled when she saw him.

“Hey Mr. Hale. Are you here with Jackson?” she asked. “Me and Dad were just looking around.” She looked to the left and waved. “Hey, Daddy! I’m over here.” She turned back. “So, Jackson?” she asked them both.

Peter snorted. “Please. Like we’d bring Jackson to shop for Lydia some new clothes.”

“Seriously, Allison, Jackson is a dumb boy,” Lydia reminded her. “The only thing he cares about my clothes are how easily they come off.”

Allison gave her a slightly alarmed look. “And you’re comfortable saying that in front of his dad?” she asked.

Peter waved a hand. “Oh please, I was sixteen once, too,” he said, turning to the rack beside him as a bright red fabric caught his eye. “Granted, I was a virgin until I was seventeen. I can thank your father for fixing that, actually,” he said, pulling out the dress. “Lydia, can you fit in a five or are your breasts too big-“ He stopped when he saw Lydia holding in a laugh as she looked towards Allison. “What?”

Allison cleared her throat and Peter glanced over, only to groan, letting his head drop backwards when he saw Chris had caught up with Allison. “Well that was hilarious and awkward,” Lydia said, giggling.

Peter gave Chris an apologetic smile. “Hi, Chris.”

Chris smiled tightly. “Thanks for telling my only child that I’m the first person you ever had sex with.”

Peter chuckled. “Well she knows I married you at eighteen, the fact I lost it at seventeen would’ve made it clear enough.”

“Not making it any less weird, thanks, Mr. Hale,” Allison said and he shrugged.

“Suit yourself. Lydia doesn’t mind hearing about me and sex,” he said and Lydia nodded.

“Yep, and I told him about my ‘screw a new cute guy every day’ week I had over the summer just to make Jackson mad. He’s a way better friend than all the girls at school before you showed up,” she said, poking her in the side with a grin. “Anyways, yes, I can fit a five, my boobs can live with it,” she said, tugging the hangar from Peter’s hands. “C’mon Allison,” she said, grabbing Allison’s wrist. “Come with me to try this on. Your dad can wait with Mr. Hale.”

Allison frowned. “What? Why do I have to come in-“

“They kicked Mr. Hale out last time he came in with me,” she said simply, tugging Allison along.

Chris snorted. “You went into the ladies dressing room with her and didn’t think ‘oh they might kick me out’?” he asked and Peter rolled his eyes.

“The fact they assume a thirty-seven year old man waiting outside the stall of a sixteen year old girl is a pedophile rather than a stylist says way more about how perverted their minds are, in my opinion. There are zero things sexual about me helping Lydia try on clothes. I’m a stylist, not a creep,” he said flatly.

Chris gave him an amused look. “Peter, you’re friends with a sixteen year old girl. That’s kinda weird.”

Peter held up a finger. “Correction, I’m friends with a sixteen year old certified genius with the best fashion sense in this town, the affluent parents who can afford to buy her tons of clothes, and whose friends are all normal sixteen year old girls who wouldn’t know rose from carnation,” he argued. “Besides, she’s Jackson’s girlfriend most of the time. It’s the closest I can get to knowing what’s going on in my son’s life,” he added with a sad smile.

“Ah. I guess that makes sense.” Chris chuckled. “I still can’t believe your hobbies include day-drinking at a coffee shop and hanging out with a teenage girl, though.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Your hobbies seem to include hanging out with a teenage girl and _selling guns_ , Chris. Guns!” He looked him over. “And clearly you never learned how to dress, so I don’t know what you plan on doing to help Allison pick out clothes. With you as her shopping buddy, you’d probably recommend she buy turtlenecks and hide her shoulders and neck.”

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Turtlenecks are good for winter-“

“And bad for tall girls with a long neck,” Peter dismissed. “You’re wearing two different types of plaid together, Chris. Trust me, I used to get paid thousands of dollars to pick out clothes for people, I know my shit,” he said with a grin.

Chris chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “So you’re actually the fashion police. You have the authority to tell me my clothes are bad?”

“Yes, I really do, and that outfit is terrible. You’re wearing light wash jeans with plaid over plaid and black boots. You look like a homeless person had a baby with a lumberjack,” he said and Chris scoffed.

“It’s not that bad-“

“It really is,” Peter said with finality. He reached out and grabbed his wrist. “Come with me,” he said, tugging Chris behind him. As he passed the dressing rooms, he called through the door. “Lydia, Allison? I’m kidnapping Christopher and taking him to find clothes that don’t suck.”

“Alright, we’ll come find you in the men’s section in a minute!” Lydia called back and Peter gave Chris a nod and tugged him along again.

“Come on,” Peter said, releasing Chris’s wrist and letting him follow. “Trust me. By the time they get here, Allison won’t know what happened to her hobo-father and his terrible plaid.”

Chris just laughed, shaking his head. “Alright, you’re the expert. I bow to your advice.”

Peter smirked, turning around to walk backwards to the rack. “See? You’re learning well already.” He turned and slid some hangers aside and then pulled a shirt off the rack. “Hold this. We need some jeans now,” he said, walking over to grab some jeans. He looked at Chris’s waist, humming before grabbing a pair. “Here, go try this on.”

Chris raised an eyebrow as he took the jeans. “You don’t know my size,” he said and Peter gave him a flat look.

“I spent ten years putting clothes on people as my job, I can tell your size looking at you. Besides, you’ve only gone up one size since you were twenty, which is very surprising.” He gave him a teasing grin. “I always figured you’d get fat one day.”

Chris huffed at the offensive remark. “Hey, I’ll have you know the only reason I’ve gone up a size is because of muscle.”

“Yeah, yeah, get your skinny ass in that dressing room and put those on,” Peter said, nodding to the changing room.

~

Lydia and Allison arrived just as the dressing room door opened behind Peter. Before he even turned around, the look on Lydia’s face said all he needed to know. He turned with a smirk already on his lips. Prepared to tease Chris about Lydia’s wide-eyed look, only to feel like he’d been punched in the stomach when he got an eyeful of Chris standing there in a tight, white v-neck shirt with very short sleeves and tight black jeans. He had underestimated the muscles Chris was hiding under his layers or the way the shirt would dip down and show off his chest.

“Oh wow, Daddy, you look great! Your eyes look all pretty and brighter blue like that,” Allison praised, clearly oblivious to Lydia and Peter’s wide-eyed gawking. “You really know your stuff Mr. Hale,” she said, only to frown when he and Lydia neither responded. “Uh, guys?”

Peter snapped out of it, swallowing hard as he stopped staring at Chris’s body and fixed a polite smile on his face as he looked at Allison. “Well, my dear, it’s what I’m good at.” He elbowed Lydia, who smirked, turning to him with a vengeful look in her eye. 

“Wow, Mr. Hale. You sure picked clothes to make Mr. Argent look very athletic and well-aged,” she said, then looked back at Mr. Argent. “I definitely think white is your color,” she said, and Peter nodded, forcing a smile.

“Yeah, you look great, Chris. You’d also look really good in some dark colors. Like navy and dark green,” he suggested lightly.

“Yeah, Dad, you should get some long sleeve shirts that fit like that, so you can wear them outside,” Allison urged, flattening the seam along his shoulders. “You look taller in clothes that fit you better.”

Chris smiled. “Thanks, Sweetheart,” he said, glancing back at Peter. “Got any suggestions? Allison seems to like it.”

Peter could _feel_ the knowing look Lydia was giving as he smiled a bit too cheerfully and nodded. “Sure thing, come this way.”

As he walked down the row, Lydia leaned closer to him and whispered, “I’m onto you, Hale,” and he could only make a distressed sound only she could hear and give her a panicked look.

“I’m so screwed, he’s hot,” he whispered and she snorted.

“No shit.”

~

After running into Peter and Lydia at the mall and letting them help them pick out some clothes, Chris and Allison continued to shop around the mall with them. Every shop the girls went into alone, Peter stood with him outside while they waited, holding their bags. He couldn’t help but laugh at the funny things Peter said. His dry-witted sense of humor had always made Chris laugh.

He also didn’t miss the way Peter’s eyes kept lingering on his body in the new clothes he’d bought at Peter’s suggestion. He felt pretty guilty at how uncomfortable it _didn’t_ make him. He felt even more guilty at how he couldn’t help noticing Peter’s body beneath his jacket every time he shifted Lydia’s bags from one hand to another. 

It wasn’t until later that night, after Allison brought him back the phone from his desk after they’d both talked to Victoria that the real guilt hit him as Allison sat on the edge of his desk hesitantly. 

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” she said and Chris nodded.

“Me too, Pumpkin. I like getting to spend time with you like this,” he said genuinely.

She nodded. “Mr. Hale sure knows his stuff about clothes. And he’s pretty funny,” she said, looking up at him. “You guys seemed to really get along.”

Chris sat back in his seat, knowing fully from the weight of her words exactly how she meant it. “It’s interesting, getting to know your friend’s dad,” he deflected and she gave him a carefully neutral look. He smiled uncomfortably and continued. “He’s still the same old Peter, really.”

Allison looked down at her hand on the desk. “Did you mention to Mom that we had friends shopping?” she asked, and he knew from her tone that she already knew the answer to that question.

“Not in so many words,” he admitted, and she nodded. 

“Yeah, me neither,” she said softly. Chris looked at her curiously and she opened her mouth, then seemed to think better of it. She smiled once more, sliding off the desk. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Daddy,” she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek before heading out.

“Goodnight, Allison,” he said, leaning back in his chair to slap a hand over his face even before she was all the way gone. It was clear he wasn’t great at hiding his reactions to Peter’s presence from Allison and he knew what she had to think of it all.

He was so screwed.

~

Peter was just adding even more sugar to his latte when he heard a familiar voice ordering a black coffee. He rolled his eyes before turning around. “Christopher, you moved here from _San Francisco_ and you still drink black coffee?” he asked.

Chris looked over as he handed his card to the cashier. “Hey, Peter,” he said, glancing at his cup. “Do you still not have diabetes yet from that crap?”

Peter shrugged then took a sip of his coffee while still looking Chris in the eyes. “Ahhh,” he sighed, licking his lips. “Hazelnut, vanilla, sugary goodness.”

Chris took his coffee and walked over to the table beside Peter to put milk in his coffee. “It’s not black anymore. I got used to pouring milk in it, too,” he clarified.

Peter tutted. “Oh, milk, how risky,” he said, smiling when Chris looked at him with a playful frown. They both headed to the door and turned left, naturally falling into step together. “So, what has you out so early today?” he asked.

Chris hummed as he lowered his coffee. “I drove Allison to school. I really need to buy her a car, but I really like all this getting to hang out with her,” he admitted with a smile. “My little girl’s growing up and it makes me sort of clingy.”

Peter chuckled. “I’d be happy if Jackson would just say ‘good morning’ on his way out the door. Or maybe call me ‘Dad’ for once in his life,” he said, making a face. “Tell me, was I this mean to my parents as a kid?” he asked, tossing his scarf over his shoulder dramatically.

“You weren’t a bad kid until I started being such a bad influence,” Chris said with a chuckle. “I started keeping you out past curfew and got you to sneak out and stuff and suddenly you got an attitude with your parents because they kept pushing at your lies.”

Peter wrinkled his nose. “I was a little shit after I met you, wasn’t I?” he asked with a grin. He sighed. “Hell, I have the opposite problem with Jackson. The only time he talks to me is when Lydia makes him. Why couldn’t _she_ be my kid?” he asked, then turned to Chris, batting his eyelashes. “Hey Christopher, wanna trade children? Allison seems like a good one.” Chris gave him a look and Peter huffed. “Hey, she looks more like she could be my kid than she does you. Has anybody ever told you your child does not look at all like your child?”

Chris nodded. “Actually she doesn’t look like her mother, either. I have no clue where she got those brown eyes from. Everybody in my family has blue eyes and light hair and her mother’s from a family of redheads. Every one of them is redheaded and blue-eyed.” He shrugged. “I dunno where her coloring came from.”

Peter let out a ‘pfft’ sound. “Jackson got all the Hale genes except for that light hair. His mother’s a blonde, but his jawline and cheekbones and blue eyes are all Hale.” He grinned. “One thing I can say, my kid is just as dashing as his father,” he said, with a dramatic expression. “My sister can’t claim the title of ‘most attractive offspring’ anymore.” He looked at Chris. “What about Katie? She have any kids?”

Chris scoffed. “Kate is nearly a pedophile, she’s more likely to fuck kids than have them. It’s disgusting. Her current boyfriend is _nineteen_ ,” he stressed and Peter mimed gagging.

“Ewwww, Chris, your sister’s a pervert.” He shuddered. “She’s what, thirty?”

“Yep,” Chris said, lips popping on the ‘p’. “She’s nearly thirty-one and she’s dating a kid from the college. It’s one of the reasons we don’t socialize with her very much. She helped us move in and then I’ve conveniently missed all her calls. Allison is seventeen, two years younger than her _aunt’s_ boyfriend. Allison doesn’t need to know how messed up her relatives are.”

Peter snickered. “Well hey, it’s way grosser, but to be fair, nineteen is legal at least. You can’t say too much, you were committing a felony with me, Chris.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “I’m well aware it was inappropriate _now_ , but at the time I was a stupid kid in love, just like you. Kate’s a grown woman who knows better. I _was_ nineteen, so I know how dumb that poor kid is.”

“True, you were stupid, not a pedophile,” Peter said with a grin. “Besides, when I saw you at the lake that night we met, you had no chance of escaping me. Everybody falls for my charms,” he said, tossing his hair like a prince in a Disney movie.

Chris snickered. “Please, you were skinny and awkward-“

“Oh like you weren’t?!” Peter countered with a laugh. “Chris, you had the weirdest shaped head as a kid. You looked like Gumby, you were so lanky.”

“Oh I looked like Gumby? Then why did you flirt with me if I was so weird looking?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Peter gave him a more honest smile. “Cause you had really pretty eyes,” he said, then elbowed Chris lightly. “Trust me, you aged very gracefully. You’re far more handsome now than you were when we were kids.”

“I could definitely say the same about you,” Chris said, making Peter smirk.

“Oh really? You saying I’m gorgeous?” he teased, developing a smug look.

“No, I’m saying you were a dorky looking kid and now you look like a normal human,” he countered, making Peter gasp in mock offense, hand going to his chest. Chris smiled and shrugged. “No, but really, you look good. You’re not all skinny like you were back then and it’s a good look for you.”

Peter hummed, wiggling his eyebrows. “You’re still skinny, but you’ve got a hell of an upper body now. You didn’t have a muscle to you as a kid. I really need your secrets. I’m starting to get fat thighs,” he said, and Chris glanced down at his thick legs in his white pants.

“I don’t know, I don’t do anything special. Just go to the gym,” he said with a shrug. “Try running more?”

“Ew,” Peter said, giving him a look as if he was insane. “I’m not _running_. Running is for when something is chasing you. Not for recreation.” Chris burst out laughing, only to be tugged off course when Peter grabbed his elbow excitedly. “Oooh, have you been back here since you came back, yet?” he asked, pulling Chris into the plaza beside the theatre.

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Where does this go? To the empty field beside the railroad?” he asked, and Peter shook his head, still leading Chris by his elbow.

“No, apparently two years ago they built this plaza and this giant fountain to link Main Street to this new pavilion back by the train tracks.” Peter pointed to the green roof over the structure in front of them. “There’s usually a farmers market in the morning. I bet there’s way better stuff than the grocery store.”

Chris looked at him curiously. “You still like to cook? I figured you would’ve grown out of that when you moved to LA.”

Peter grinned. “Nonsense, I learned to cook _better_ in LA. I cook all the time at home. Sometimes I can even get Jackson to come out long enough to eat whatever I cook before he goes to his room or leaves to go out.”

Peter led Chris across the road and they started at one end of the farmers market, eagerly exploring amongst the stalls. Peter didn’t even realize he hadn’t unlinked his arm from Chris’s elbow until Chris tugged him to a stop in front of a booth with local honey-candy. “Allison loves honey,” Chris explained as he unhooked his arm from Peter’s to get out his wallet and buy the candy. As soon as he finished, however, he slid his arm back through Peter’s seemingly unthinkingly, gesturing for Peter to lead on.

Peter knew it wasn’t right, but he didn’t do anything to dissuade Chris from linking their arms together again. He was liking it far too much to want it to end just yet. 

They continued on, perusing the stalls until Peter had bought enough ingredients that he had to buy a canvas bag to hold them all. When they finished, it was lunch time and Chris suggested they grab lunch at the Italian place they had passed walking down Main Street, so they walked back the way they came until they got to the restaurant. 

Over lunch, Peter learned some about Chris’s career, the places he’d lived in in the past eighteen years, some of the friends he’d made and good times he’d had, and in turn he talked about his life in LA and his crazy wealthy clients he’d had during his career. After they finished lunch – which Chris insisted on paying for, since he’d been the one to suggest it – they made their way back to the coffee shop to get coffee again.

Sitting at a small table, knees bumping together, as they sipped coffee in the warmth and coziness of the coffee shop, Peter couldn’t help but feel an undeniable warmth inside as Chris laughed again, making his eyes crinkle at the edges until the vibrant silver of his eyes was brighter than ever. When the conversation slacked off some, Chris gave him a small, warmer smile. “You know, I’m really glad I ran into you this morning. Today has been about the most fun I’ve had since I moved back here.”

Peter nodded with a small, warm smile of his own. “It was nice having some input shopping for produce. You should come by sometime and let me cook you dinner, show you all the tricks I’ve learned. I’m sure Jackson would love hanging out with Allison as well.”

Peter realized he’d broken the spell a fraction of a second before Chris twitched slightly, eyes widening as it really hit him that he had just spent almost a whole day with _Peter_. Chris cleared his throat, taking a drink of his coffee quickly, and Peter glanced down at his coffee in his hands as the awkwardness set in. He snuck a look at Chris, who pushed his sleeve up to look at his watch and sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before looking up with a sad smile. “I need to go pick Allison up,” he said, and Peter nodded, swallowing against how dry his throat had run. Chris looked down at his coffee cup before sucking it up and meeting Peter’s eyes. 

Peter could see all of his own confusing emotions swirling around reflected back at him in Chris’s gaze. “I really did enjoy today,” Chris said, and Peter nodded, smiling faintly.

“It was nice to spend the day with you, Christopher,” he said in a soft tone. He nodded towards the door. “Go on. Don’t want to be late to get Allison.”

Chris nodded, then stood up. He pulled on his coat and gave Peter a sad smile filled with lingering warmth. “I’ll see you later, Peter.”

Peter leaned against his clasped hands and nodded, wiggling a finger at him in lieu of a wave. “Bye, Christopher.” 

As soon as Chris walked out the door and disappeared, Peter dropped his head into his hands, breathing deeply and slowly as he fought the waves of ‘oh no’ that were washing over him.

~

Chris tried to avoid being alone with Peter in the following days after they spent the day together, but when Allison asked to go eat dinner at Jackson’s house and said Peter mentioned he was welcome to join them, he decided he would go. It wasn’t even slightly inappropriate to see Peter while all the kids were there.

If he spent a while longer getting dressed than usual, it was fully coincidental. 

Allison knocked on the door and smiled. “You ready to go, Dad?” she asked, and he turned around, stepping away from the mirror. She looked him over, raising an eyebrow. “You look nice. Are those pants new?”

Chris looked down. “I don’t know. They were in the closet,” he lied. When he looked up she had stepped closer.

“You missed a button,” she said, giving him a knowing look. “You’re going to eat dinner at my friend’s house, not out to a bar.”

He forced a smile and nodded. “Thanks, pumpkin. Go get your coat and let’s go.”

~

Peter heard a knock at the door and turned around, busy whisking the dressing for the salad. “Lydia, my dear, can you get that for me? It’s got to be Allison.”

She nodded. “Sure thing, just don’t let that dressing separate, I love that stuff,” she commanded, making him chuckle as she left the room, heels clicking quickly. He turned back to whisking when he heard Lydia’s, “Allison! You made it!” He hoped to have the food all ready as soon as Jackson came out of his room, as he probably would once he realized other people had arrived. He heard footsteps behind him and he held up a hand. “Just a second, I’ve just got to get this salad plated and I’ll come say hello to your friends, Jackson.”

“Wow, it smells really great in here, Peter.” Peter nearly dropped the pepper grinder as he turned, fixing a flustered smile on his face when he saw Chris in the doorway. 

“Christopher! Hi. I thought you were Jackson so you startled me,” he said, setting the pepper grinder aside and wiping his hands on the towel next to it. He smiled as he smoothed his shirt down over his hips and stepped back from the counter. “I see Allison dragged you along.”

“Yeah, I hope that’s okay,” Chris said, gesturing to the living room behind him. “Lydia told her not to leave me all alone at home, so-“

“Oh, no, it’s fine. Plenty of food for everybody,” Peter said. “Actually, you want to help me?” he asked, nodding to the dishes lined up on the counter. “Five plates is a little more than I can carry,” he said.

Chris nodded, walking around the island. “Yeah, sure I’ve got you,” he said, and together they carried the plates out to the dining room.

Peter smiled at Lydia’s table settings. “Lydia? Can you go drag my offspring to the table?” he called, smiling when he got a ‘sure thing, Mr. Hale!’ in response. 

Allison came walking in, smiling when she saw Peter. “Hi, thanks for inviting us. It smells great in here.”

Peter waved a hand. “Oh please, I love cooking for new people. Lydia’s mother loves when I cook, but she hates Jackson so we needed a break from her this time,” he whispered jokingly. He gestured to the table. “Have a seat wherever, I’m just going to go drag Jackson out of his room,” he said, making a quick escape. He stopped in the hall and took a calming breath. He hadn’t counted on Chris coming or looking so goddamn amazing.

He needed to gather his wits after the unexpected dose of Chris in a fitted black shirt with the top buttons undone, showing off his throat and a peek of chest hair. The black shirt and gray jeans made his silvery blue eyes really pop and it was _alarmingly_ attractive.

When he finally pushed off the wall, he made it a few steps before Jackson’s door opened and he and Lydia came out. “Found him!” Lydia said with a grin, fingers laced through Jackson’s as she led him along.

Peter gave Jackson a look. “Go say hi to your friend,” he said. “Lydia, will you help me with the drinks?” After he and Lydia came back with glasses of water for them all, Peter sat, in the empty space across from Chris, beside Lydia, with a sigh. “Well, dig in,” he suggested.

“What is this?” Jackson asked, moving the greens on his plate around curiously.

Peter gave him a forced smile with slightly narrowed eyes. “The first course is a salad made of fresh winter greens with a red wine vinaigrette. It’s got endives, watercress, radicchio, and kumquats. You’re going to like it, Jackson.”

Allison took a bite and hummed. “Mmm, this is really good. Dad said you were making the dressing when he came in. Where did you learn to make stuff like this yourself?”

Peter chuckled. “I always liked cooking. Great stress buster. But then when I lived in Washington, my sister’s family had a farm and I learned a lot about using fresh produce and really enjoyed experimenting with flavors. When I came back here, I actually talked my parents into letting me grow a small garden on their land, I liked it so much. Then when I moved to LA, all the health-nuts made me try new things and I got into trying new recipes and reading all the cooking magazines.”

Lydia nodded, gesturing with her fork. “Mr. Hale is the best cook I know, hands down. I hate cooking so whenever I want something fresh, I convince Jackson to get his dad to cook for us instead of go out,” she said and Peter chuckled.

“This is how I end up spending most of my time with a sixteen year old girl,” he said, rolling his eyes playfully.

When they finished their salads, Peter cleared their plates while Allison and Lydia talked about the boy Allison liked. He had only just began plating their main dishes when Chris came in, hands in his pocket. “Anything I can help with? I really have heard enough about ‘big brown eyes’ to last a lifetime,” he said, and Peter grinned, scrunching his nose.

“Allison gushes at home?” he asked and Chris gave him a pained look. “Awww, it’s okay. Scott’s a good kid. He’s fuckin’ adorable,” he said with a grin. “Cutest little thing, like a dumb puppy.” He nodded to the cabinet behind Chris. “Get the wine glasses out for me?”

Chris got them and grabbed one of the plates as he headed back to the dining room. When all the plates were served, Peter leaned across the table to pour wine. Chris looked at him curiously. “Wine for the children?” he asked pointedly, and Peter hesitated at Allison’s glass.

He shrugged. “It’s just a little. It goes great with the butternut squash risotto. But if you’d rather Allison not have any, that’s up to you,” he said respectfully. He made a face. “It’s not like I’m giving them liquor. It’s a table wine. One small glass won’t do anything, even to a teenager.”

Chris huffed, shaking his head. “May as well. It’s not like I don’t remember how much you used to drink at seventeen,” he said and Peter smirked, pouring the wine before sitting down.

“Yeah, but I was a rebellious teenager. I’d drink shitty beer all night at the lake with all the college kids to be cool,” he said with a dramatic flourish. “I wasn’t sipping a forty dollar wine paired with homemade risotto.” He waved his fork at Jackson. “Just don’t tell your cousin I gave alcohol to minors.”

Allison tilted her head. “Who’s your cousin?” she asked Jackson.

Jackson huffed. “You know the scowly sheriff’s deputy? The one that looks permanently annoyed? That’s Peter’s nephew.”

Lydia wiggled her eyebrows. “The really hot one with the dark hair and giant arms,” she clarified and Peter made a face.

“He’s the spitting image of my big sister with a male body and facial hair, Lydia, could you not?” he asked and she gave him a look, smirking.

“Then your big sister must be really hot,” she said simply, making Chris choke on his wine with a laugh while Allison giggled. 

~

After dinner, Peter finished loading the dishwasher while Chris sat at the island, the two of them chatting while the kids hung out in the living room. Peter closed the dishwasher and looked out the door, listening for a moment before ducking into the pantry. He came back from the top corner with a bottle. Chris raised an eyebrow as Peter grabbed two glasses and sat one in front of him. “Allison can drive, right?” Peter asked, holding up a bottle.

“Yeah, a few sips of that wine wouldn’t do anything, and even if she’d had two glasses of that stuff it would’ve worn off by now,” Chris said, and Peter grinned as he poured Chris a drink.

“This Armagnac cost way too much for Jackson to get into it when I’m not around, but I figured a good after dinner drink was only polite,” he said, and Chris thanked him.

Peter leaned against the island and watched as Chris sipped his drink, then hummed, letting his eyes fall shut. “Yep, that is good,” Chris said, making Peter smirk. 

“I’m not much of a drinker, but one or two of these hits the spot after a long day and a big meal, that’s for sure,” he said, meeting Chris’s eyes. “So. What’s the verdict on dinner? Do I suck at cooking?” he teased and Chris rolled his eyes.

“Oh please, you were always a great cook, even as poor as we were,” Chris said, and Peter preened.

“Why thank you, Christopher. It’s nice to be appreciated,” he joked. “So. What have you been up to?” he asked, and Chris chuckled, running a hand through his hair with a tired ruffle.

“Finalizing details for the sheriff’s department’s big order of new firearms and chauffeuring Allison around mostly.” He gave Peter a look. “I visited my father yesterday.”

Peter hummed, nodding considering. “How is Gerard? Still a bastard?” he asked and Chris chortled, nodding.

“Definitely. He asked why I don’t have a ‘real job’. He also told me Allison should be in private school, not with ‘those other kids’.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “Like private school did my sister any good. Or like Allison would fit in with those snobbish kids. I mean hell, how rich do you have to be to go to private school around here if Lydia is a public school kid.” He grimaced. “Don’t get me wrong, Lydia is a great kid, I didn’t mean that in a bad way, but she’s really smart and clearly comes from money like I did. What would Allison be up against in private school?”

Peter grunted, tilting his head. “Probably pill addiction and rampant misogyny, if we’re honest.”

Chris gestured to him simply. “Thank you. I tried telling him that.” He sighed, shaking his head. Peter’s eyes strayed to the way the dimness in the room apart from the lights right above them made the silver strands of Chris’s hair stand out from the brown. “I don’t regret moving back here, Gerard is not going to be around much longer and he is my father, but he just grates at my nerves. He’s always treated me like a disappointment.”

Peter smiled sadly. “Let’s be honest, that’s probably my fault. He liked you until you brought a teenage boy home to mom and dad.”

“No, Peter, it’s not your fault my father is an ass,” Chris argued. “He’s never been happy with my choices. Allison doesn’t seem to like him that much, and I honestly can’t blame her. If I hadn’t known him my whole life, I’d find it hard to be comfortable with his judgmental looks.”

Peter shook his head. “Then fuck ‘em,” he said simply, raising his glass to Chris. “Allison’s a dear, he can shove his judgmental attitude up his ass when it comes to her. I genuinely adore your kid, and she’s just friends with my kid. He’s her granddaughter, he should love her how she is, not judge her for being her father’s daughter.”

Chris sighed, raising his glass back at Peter. “Here’s to hoping one day people’s kids don’t resent them the way people resent their father,” he said, making Peter smile sadly before they both drank. 

~

Peter sat in the stands with Lydia, Allison, and Chris for the lacrosse game and when the final buzzer sounded and it was a win, all of them were on their feet cheering. When Jackson ran over to the edge of the stands, Lydia hugged him with a squeal and Peter reached out for a high-five, surprised when Jackson actually gave him a smile and let him have it. “Hey Peter, can I have the party at home?” he asked, and Peter hesitated. Jackson sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes but Peter quickly stepped down so he was on the ground. 

“Our place just isn’t big enough,” he started, only to stop when he looked down the bench and saw Sheriff Stilinski hugging his kid. “I’ve got an idea.” He slapped Jackson on the shoulder. “Give me twenty minutes and I’ll talk your cousin into letting you have a bonfire at the house,” he said and Jackson gave him an impressed look, eyebrow raised.

“Wow, Derek will let me have a party at his house?”

Peter scoffed. “Technically my name is on the deed with Talia’s, he’s just our tenant.” He poked him in the chest. “Just tell your friends not to bring booze or he’ll arrest them. If they wanna get wasted in secret, that’s none of my business, but he’ll haul the whole team to jail,” he warned him.

Jackson waved a hand. “Whatever, just call him!” he said, giving Lydia a kiss on the cheek before he turned and ran after the rest of the team on the way back to the locker room. 

Lydia threw up her arms. “The Hale House! I’ve always wanted to go there,” she said to Peter. “Allison! C’mon, we need to go get my makeup bag from Jackson’s car and get you cute!” she said, dragging Allison down off the bleachers to run to the parking lot.

Peter turned to Chris, who rolled his eyes. “Thanks, now I’ve gotta take Allison all the way up into the preserve.”

Peter smirked. “Hey, Chris, wanna come to a party? Derek’s going to make me stay without a doubt, we might as well grab the sheriff and make it a party!”

Chris shrugged, grinning. “May as well. That way I don’t have to come back later to get Allison.”

“Sweet!” Peter grabbed his phone. “I’ll call Derek, you go talk the sheriff into coming!”

~

Derek kept glaring at Peter the whole time he and Melissa McCall, Scott’s mom, carried bags of snacks into the kitchen. “I can’t believe you talked me into having a party for teenagers at my house.”

Peter sighed. “Derek, you’re barely older than all these teenagers. Did you not have fun in high school? Did you not play sports? Jackson is popular and has friends, he wants to have a party, I don’t have the space, and you do. Be nice to your cousin!”

Derek glowered. “Don’t call me that.”

“We’ve got ice!” Peter turned and smiled when Scott and the sheriff’s kid came walking in with a cooler between them. “Mom,” Scott said, nodding to the door. “Sheriff has the drinks in his truck, can you help hi-“

“No need,” Allison said as she came in carrying bags full of sodas. She smiled at Peter. “Thanks for this, Jackson seems a lot less grumpy than usual.” She put the bags on the counter and looked back towards the hall. “Daddy? You got the rest?”

“We do, Pumpkin,” Chris called from the hall. Sheriff Stilinski walked in ahead of him as he and Chris brought the rest of the drinks and food. “Jackson and his friends are already out back getting dead branches and stuff from the woods and building a fire, Derek. You may want to go make sure they don’t put it too close to the house.”

Derek cursed, running past them. “IF YOU SET MY HOUSE ON FIRE, I’LL ARREST YOU FOR ARSON!” he shouted as he ran out the back door.

Melissa sighed, shaking her head. “John, that boy needs to lay off on the coffee,” she said and John laughed, shaking his head.

“Derek’s a good kid. He’s just-“

“Psychotic?” Peter offered and John gave him a look.

“Intense,” he countered. He nodded to his son. “Go on, we’ve got this, Stiles,” he said, and Stiles and Scott high-fived then dragged Allison with them as they headed to the backyard. 

Peter tilted his head, leaning back against the counter. “You named your son Stiles Stilinski?” he asked, and John rolled his eyes.

“It’s a nickname. He likes to be called that because his real name is weird,” he said and Melissa smacked him in the middle.

“Don’t say his name is ‘weird’. It’s unique!” she argued. 

Chris leaned against the counter beside Peter, crossing his arms. “You know his name?” he asked curiously. “Are you guys-“ He gestured between Melissa and John, but they both turned and blushed.

“What? Ha, no-“

“No, I’ve just known Stiles since he and Scott were five-“

“Yeah, we’re just friends-“

“Definitely!”

Peter grinned, leaning over to Chris to mock-whisper. “Yeah, that’s believable.”

John cleared his throat, smiling forcefully. “I’m gonna go check on Derek,” he said, ducking out of the kitchen quickly. 

Chris smirked at Melissa’s pink cheeks. “Hey, you’re both single, right? Go for it!”

“Yeah,” Peter agreed, bumping shoulders with Chris. “If he swung my way, I’d totally go for it. Can’t go wrong with a handsome guy with a gun!”

She rolled her eyes. “Anyways, help me find bowls and stuff and set up the food before the rest of all the kids get here so I can get the booze out of my car.”

Peter laughed in surprise. “Why Melissa! You know the kids can’t drink here-“

“Oh I know that, I never said I got it for them,” she said with a sly grin. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not sitting around chaperoning forty loud teenagers sober after a twelve hour rotation already today.”

Chris turned to Peter after she left and raised an eyebrow. “Did you know nurses were total lushes?” he asked and Peter let out a loud laugh as he started digging around for bowls.

“I’d drink, too, if I had to deal with sick people for twelve hours and _then_ go to a lacrosse game and the after party.”

~

Peter was driving home, so he only had the one beer he’d been sipping for a while as he and the parents (and Derek) sat on the back porch with the food. The kids were out through the trees around the giant bonfire Jackson and the other boys had built, only coming up to the house to grab food and go back out to where there was music and no parents. Peter was just teasing Derek over his surly disposition when a butt plopped down beside him on the bench and someone plucked his beer out of his hands. He turned to Lydia as she took a sip and tutted as he grabbed her hand. “No, you know better than that.” He took his beer back with a playfully stern look. “Derek will arrest you for underage drinking!”

Lydia followed his gesture and smirked as she looked Derek over. “Why yes, please, Deputy Hale,” she purred, holding out her hands for handcuffs. Derek gave her a fearful look, visibly shrinking back some.

Peter mimed gagging, slapping her hands down. “Lydia! Gross!” he chastised. “He’s twenty-four! And ugly.”

She scoffed, giving him a flat look. “Really, Mr. Hale? He’s like you but younger and hotter. With handcuffs.”

“Eurgh, be gone with you, you dirty child!” Peter said, shoving at her gently until she got up. She grabbed a soda and ran back out into the night, making him roll his eyes. “I need more adult friends,” he sighed.

“Teenagers are alarming,” John said with an amused look at Derek’s slightly frightened look. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she was joking.”

Peter gestured with his bottle. “I dunno, she’s nearly seventeen. I used to sneak out and go hang out with college kids at seventeen.” He gave Chris a wink. “And have a college boy climb in my window after my parents had gone to sleep.”

Derek looked at Peter with narrowed eyes. “Wait, people can get into this house from the second floor?” he asked dubiously. “The upstairs windows don’t have locks.”

Chris snorted, choking on his beer. “They sure don’t,” he said, and Derek groaned, letting his head drop back.

“You’re telling me I need to replace all the windows on the second floor?” he asked and Peter shrugged.

“I really doubt anybody’s gonna break into your house, Derek. Out here in the middle of nowhere, and with you living here, it’s not like they’ll get much other than a bullet in their ass,” he said with a shrug.

Chris nodded. “Also, it’s _really_ hard to do without the rose trellis on the side of the front porch. It’s not impossible, but it takes tons of work.” 

Peter snickered. “Remember the time you fell?!” He threw his head back and laughed. “Derek, oh my God, you know which room was mine, right?” he asked, and Derek nodded. “You know how one window goes out onto the roof of the porch and the other is a straight drop into the shrubs at the ground? Well one night we’d fallen asleep and we woke up when my alarm for school went off and in the rush to get him half-asleep out my room, he jumped out the wrong window and didn’t realize the mistake before it was too late and he fell! I thought he was dead and I was going to have to tell my dad the dead guy was my boyfriend but he was fine, he just limped off into the woods with a sprained ankle.”

Chris laughed, slapping his knee. “I remember that! I told Gerard I’d stepped in a hole going on a morning jog when he got up and I was icing my ankle in the kitchen.”

Melissa snickered, looking at Chris with a challenging eyebrow raise. “Think you could still climb in the window?”

“Psh, totally,” he said confidently. “I’m in better shape in my forties than I was in my twenties.”

John gave him a disbelieving look. “Argent, you cannot climb up the front porch and in the window,” he said.

Derek narrowed his eyes at them and shook his head. “Oooh no. Oh no no. You’re not about to try to break in my house!”

Peter smirked. “I don’t think he can do it,” he said to Derek.

“Hey, anybody wanna put money on it?” Melissa asked, and John gave her a surprised look. She rolled her eyes. “What? I worked a forty-five hour work week, I’ve had a few beers, and I had to put up with _your_ kid scaring the shit out me by running in screaming that he needed Scott and it turns out he just needed to help Scott cheat on his homework. I’m allowed to be a little less mature right now.”

John chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, okay, I’ll give you that.”

Peter looked at Chris, who shrugged, smirking. “I’m just relaxed enough to actually do it if you keep it up,” he warned and Peter gave him a look.

“You are not _actually_ going to try to climb in the window-“

“Why not? C’mon, Peter, you’re the fun parent, let the rest of us do something childish for once in the past twenty years,” he joked.

Derek held up his hands. “I’m not a part of this. I’m just gonna go inside, get my phone, and be ready to call an ambulance when this goes horribly wrong,” he said, and John shrugged with an amused look as he looked at Chris.

“I don’t think you can do it,” he said, and Melissa held up a hand.

“I’ll put twenty bucks on him doing it,” she said, and John looked at her before nodded.

“Alright, I’ll take that bet if he’s actually willing to try it,” he said, and Melissa gave Chris a grin.

Chris leaned back in his chair for a moment before throwing his hands up. “Fuck it, let’s go!”

Peter gaped when they all three stood up, Derek already heading for the kitchen to grab his phone. “What?! Chris, no!” he said, watching them head off into the yard to round the house. “Christopher you’re gonna hurt yourself!” he shouted, only to scramble out of his seat and run in the house. He saw Derek holding his phone and gestured upstairs. “That dumbass is going to die,” he said and Derek shrugged.

“That’s not my problem.” He smirked suddenly. “But I am gonna film him falling,” he said, turning to run upstairs. Peter cursed and followed him up the stairs.

Peter and Derek both leaned out the window, watching as the other three stood around near the porch. “You’re going to die!” Peter shouted down to Chris. 

“I’ll still win if you die, just saying,” John pointed out and Melissa snorted.

Chris took off his coat and walked up to the porch. “I’m gonna regret this,” he said loud enough for them all to hear as he climbed up onto the porch railings. Peter and Derek couldn’t see from there, but from the way John and Melissa laughed, and the amount of time it took for Chris to come up over the bend of the roof, they could only imagine how funny it had looked. Chris was pink-faced from exertion, but he lifted himself up onto the step of roofing over the porch and smirked smugly as he walked to the open window. “Told you I could do it.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Now you get to climb back down,” he said and Chris glanced back, worriedly.

“Uh, was climbing down part of the deal?” he called to Melissa and John.

“YES!” they both shouted and Chris groaned.

Peter snickered, leaning out the window still. “And you don’t even get sex for your effort this time. Poor you.”

Chris sighed dramatically. “Aww not even for nostalgia?” he said, then winked before he turned around and climbed back off the ledge onto the roof of the porch below. “Wish me luck!”

“Don’t die!” Peter called, grinning when Chris saluted him before sitting on the edge of the porch roof, looking over the side for his footing.

Before he could go, however, there were footsteps in the hall behind them and Peter and Derek both turned to see Scott walking past the open doorway, only to back up and frown when he saw them. “Oh there two of you are. Lydia and Allison were looking for Allison’s dad. Something about getting his bigger coat from the car since she’s cold.”

“DAD?!” Peter and Derek both ducked out the window, Derek snickering as he zoomed the video in on Allison on the ground with her arms crossed, glaring up at her father. “Dad, what are you doing?”

Chris hesitated, waving awkwardly. “Hi, honey.”

“Mr. Argent?” Scott asked, leaning between Derek and Peter. He looked down at his mother and John as they both tried not to laugh. “Mom? Mom are you _drinking_?!” he asked incredulously.

She giggled. “Hey, Sweetie! Just about to win a bet, don’t worry about it!”

Allison shook her head. “Dad, if you break your arm, I’m not driving you to the hospital,” she argued and he snorted.

“Better hope I can still do this then,” he said, then disappeared over the edge of the porch. Peter and Derek both heard a grunt, but no crash, and a few seconds later he appeared walking over to high five Melissa.

John handed Melissa a twenty from his pocket and she gave Chris a hug in celebration. Allison just sighed. “Dad, seriously?”

He chuckled, walking over to kiss the side of her head. “Oh c’mon, old people can’t have fun, too?” he asked, and Allison smiled reluctantly, shaking her head. 

“Whatever. Can I get your big coat from the car? It’s freezing,” she said, and Chris nodded, picking his coat up off the shrub he’d laid it across to dig out the keys.

When Chris grinned up at the window Peter rolled his eyes with a smile before he ducked back inside and shut the window.

When they all went back to their previous spots, neither Peter nor Chris said anything when Chris chose to sit beside Peter instead of in the chair he’d previously sat in.

It was also went without mention when Peter leaned into Chris’s side for warmth, nor when Chris’s hand fell onto Peter’s knee and he didn’t bother moving it.

~

Allison cornered Jackson by his locker after class. “Can I help you?” he asked and she bit her lip, looking worried. 

“Jackson… does your dad see my dad during the day? I mean, do they ever do stuff with just the two of them?” she asked softly.

Jackson shut his locker, turning to look at her slowly. “I doubt it. I mean, your dad and mom are still together, right? Peter is a lot of stuff, but I don’t think he’d steal somebody’s husband. Besides, he’s the one that divorced your dad in the first place.”

“I know, but…” She looked at him hesitantly. “Jackson, my mom doesn’t know Peter’s here.” Jackson raised an eyebrow slowly. “He hasn’t mentioned it to her and I don’t want to be the one to bring it up if it’s nothing. But she doesn’t know Dad has been doing stuff with his ex. And he and Peter went from that first awkward run-in to sitting all cozied up together at that part at your cousin’s house.” She shook her head. “They’re seeing each other more than we think they are, I’m almost sure of it.”

Jackson frowned. “Do you think they’re having an affair?” he asked and Allison groaned, putting her face in her hands.

“I don’t know. I can’t imagine my dad would do that. He’s not a liar! But I can’t-“ She stopped, looking down. “I can’t ignore that something’s made him really happy lately. And I really doubt it’s his job.”

“Allison-“

She shook her head slowly. “I just worry, that’s all.” She smiled sadly. “My mom’s supposed to come next week. What happens if she gets here and sees the same thing I do?” She shrugged, pushing her hat back some. “I’m gonna go. I’ll see you later,” she said, turning to leave. Jackson watched her walk away, and as he watched her go, he replayed everything he’d noticed about Peter in the few weeks since he’d ran into Chris Argent. 

He didn’t like the way things added up.

~

Peter checked his phone for the sixth time, sighing when Lydia messaged him again. “Peter?” Chris asked, and Peter looked up, smiling apologetically. Chris frowned a little. “Everything okay?”

Peter rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “I haven’t heard from Jackson since he left for school. It’s not unusual,” he said quickly. “But Lydia is mad that he won’t answer her so she’s texting me instead. The only time he ignores Lydia is if they’ve had a fight, but they haven’t according to her. He might be out with his friends and just hasn’t looked at his phone, but I just don’t like it.” He snorted, shaking his head. “I wish he understood how easy it is to think the worst when you’re a parent.”

Chris nodded with a sympathetic smile. “I know that feeling.”

Peter put his phone down, spreading his hands out on the table. “Whatever. I’m glad you called me. At least out at a restaurant, I can’t obsess over it as much as I would have sitting alone at home.”

“Well, Allison went to Lydia’s and I really didn’t feel like cooking or going out alone,” Chris said with a smile his way. “Dinner by myself feels so awkward. I don’t know how you spend so much time alone.”

Peter chuckled, shaking his head. “I’ve spent so much time alone it’s stranger to me to get home and have Jackson around. It’s really nice, but six months of it, and I’m still getting used to it.” He shook his head. “I got so used to being alone that now that I’m not, it’s sort of overwhelming.” He looked at Chris with a small smile. “It’s pretty great having more than just Jackson in my life, lately.”

Chris felt his cheeks heat some, and he ducked his eyes. “I-“ Chris was interrupted from replying by Peter’s phone ringing. 

Peter picked it up, frowning at the unfamiliar number. “Maybe I should answer it. In case it’s Jackson.” Chris nodded and Peter answered. “Hello?”

“Peter Hale? This is Deputy Parrish from the Sheriff’s Department. Derek told me to call you before the hospital did.” Peter’s blood ran cold and he froze in his seat. “I really hate to be the one to tell you this, but your son’s been in a car accident. Derek just called from the scene and he said they’re taking him to the hospital straight away. He thought you might want to get there-“

“I’m on my way right now,” Peter croaked, dropping his phone when he tried to end the call. He stared blankly at it on the floor for a second as his heart pounded in his ears.

“Peter? Peter?!” Chris reached out and toched his hand, makig him look up. Chris looked worried. “Peter, you’re all white. Where do you need to go-“

“Jackson- Jackson was in a car accident,” he managed to force out. “Jack- Jackson-“ He scrambled up quickly, grabbing his phone and shoving his arms into his coat. “Chris, I have to-“

“I’ll drive,” Chris said, standing up quickly. He threw a handful of bills on the table, even though their food hadn’t come yet, and he grabbed Peter’s elbow, guiding him in the right direction. “You’re in no shape to drive,” he said and Peter let out a hysteric laugh that sounded nearly like a sob.

“That would be ironic. Crashing on the way to the hospital.”

~

Peter ran into the hospital, coat abandoned in the car, rushing past people and even knocking into a few. He slid to a stop at the counter, only mildly surprised when Melissa was the one sitting there. She stood up, hanging up the phone when she saw him. “Peter, just calm down,” she said quickly, reaching out to grab his forearm. “They literally just got here about three minutes ago with Jackson. I don’t have any information for you.” He started to argue and she cut him off. “All you can do is wait for an update. I’m sorry, but it’s true.”

He nodded, breath coming in weak gasps. He backed up until he bumped into someone, and hands landed on his hips, turning him around. Chris looked at him seriously. “Peter, it’s going to be okay. Jackson will be fine.” Peter’s eyes started to burn and his throat closed up painfully. Chris’s hands closed more firmly on his waist. “Peter, listen to me. It’s going to be okay.”

Peter let out a weak sob. “But it’s _Jackson_ ,” he choked out, dropping his head forward. “ _Chris_ ,” he whimpered, and Chris immediately pulled him into his arms. Peter wrapped his arms around Chris, clinging to him. Chris held him close as Peter cried into his shoulder. “Please don’t leave me to wait by myself,” Peter whispered and Chris made a hurt sound, curling his hand into the back of Peter’s hair, turning to press his lips to Peter’s hair.

“I’m right here, Peter. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” He rested his mouth against Peter’s hair, eyes falling shut as he stood strong and held Peter together while he broke down.

~

As Lydia rushed to the desk to ask about Jackson, Allison stood stock still, eyes wide as she stared at the sight down the hall a ways.

Her father stood holding Peter Hale in his arms, bodies pressed together from head to knee, fingers stroking through dark hair as he whispered something into Peter’s ear. When he opened his eyes and turned his head to rest his cheek against Peter’s shoulder, she saw the second he saw her watching them. His panicked look was all too telling.

The fact he simply sighed and closed his eyes rather than pulling away was more damning than anything.

~

When Peter finally got word about Jackson, it was a doctor and Derek who came out of the restricted access doors down the hall and approached them. Chris held his hand as they stood up, Peter practically vibrating out of his skin with worry. “Is he okay?” he asked quickly.

The doctor held up a hand. “Jackson’s going to be fine. He has a concussion and some scrapes and bruises, but he’s a really lucky kid otherwise.”

Derek gave Peter a dark look. “He was drinking and driving. The Porsche is destroyed. He flipped it,” he said and Peter groaned, putting his head in his hands.

“God, I can’t believe he was so _stupid_ ,” he muttered. “How much trouble will he be in?” he asked, and Derek shrugged.

“He’s sixteen and didn’t hit anybody else, so it’s not as bad as it could be, but he’ll definitely lose his license.” He nodded to the door. “If the sheriff puts in a good word for him, maybe he won’t have any probation or fines, but it might mean no license until he’s twenty-one.”

Peter sighed, letting his head drop back. Chris put a hand on his lower back and he gave him a wry grin. “My kid wins the stupid choices contest. This officially beats getting married to you,” he said and Chris gave him a sad smile. He looked at the doctor. “Can I see him?”

The doctor nodded. “He’s in room 104. He has to stay overnight, but he’ll be released in the morning. I’m not sure if he’ll be released to you or into custody,” he said, looking at Derek hesitantly. 

Derek shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ll find out when I talk to the sheriff. He’ll probably want to talk to him first. He’s gonna be in pretty serious trouble, but the sheriff is easier than he could be on kids if he thinks he can help them.” 

Peter chuckled dryly. “I’m sure I’ll be way angrier when I’m not so damn relieved he’s okay,” he admitted. He thanked the doctor and Derek, and watched them walk away before reaching back and squeezing Chris’s hand on his back. “He’s okay,” he said and Chris nodded.

“I told you it would be okay.” 

Peter nodded. “I need to go talk to him. Could you go tell Lydia and Allison the news?” he asked.

“Sure, Peter,” Chris said, gently sliding his hand from Peter’s hold as he turned to head down the hall while Peter headed the other way to go talk to Jackson.

~

When Peter walked into the room, even though he’d heard Jackson was okay, it hit him like a ton of bricks that Jackson had been in a _car crash_. He had flipped his car and could have _died_. He walked over to the bed, arms crossed as he saw Jackson roll his eyes at him. “Don’t even start,” he said firmly. He sat gently on the side of the bed, looking Jackson over. He reached out and touched the bandage on Jacksons’ head, but Jackson pulled away. 

“Sorry about the car,” he said insincerely. 

Peter had no idea why that set him off, but in a split second he went from “The car?” to “YOU THINK I’M UPSET ABOUT THE FUCKING CAR?!” He stood up and turned away to pace before he reached out and grabbed Jackson and shook him. “You were DRINKING and DRIVING and you think the _car_ is what I’m upset about?!”

Jackson scoffed. “You can afford the fines-“

“I got a call saying my _child_ had been in a car accident and was in the HOSPITAL!” Peter finished with a shout. 

Jackson looked away, grunting. “So? Since when have I mattered to you?”

Peter stopped, facing the bed as a cold feeling washed over him. “You think I don’t care about you?” he asked quietly and Jackson shrugged some, still not looking at him.

“You’ve never given a shit about me. Why would you care now?”

Every word from Jackson’s mouth felt like a slap to the face. “Jackson, I love you-“

“Oh bullshit,” Jackson said, looking at him finally. “If you loved me, you would’ve at least _attempted_ to be a father for my whole life, Peter. You had sixteen years to be my dad and you never even _visited_ me. The only reason you came here when my mom left is because you were stuck with me, and all you’ve done since you showed up was throw money at me, trying to buy my affection with cars and stuff and letting me do what I want-“

“And you think that means I don’t love you?!” Peter cried. “I don't know how to be a dad! I'm a fucking horrible father, I don't have any goddamn clue what I'm SUPPOSED to be doing, but how can you think for a second I don't give a shit about you when I uprooted my whole LIFE to come back here to take care of you?” He threw an arm up. “You say it's because I had to, and I did have to, but because you're my SON and you'd been just abandoned and I needed to know you're okay! If I'd known your mother was such a shitty mother, I would've come for you a hell of a long time ago, but I figured nobody could be worse at being a parent than me.”

Jackson looked at him like he’d just had his whole worldview upended. “Why do you care though? If I’m your son, like that means something, why have I never even _seen you in person_ my whole life until Mom left?!” he asked, voice tight.

Peter sighed, putting his face in his hands as he fell into the chair beside Jackson’s bed. “Because your mother wouldn’t _let me_ ,” he admitted. He looked up at Jackson, swallowing hard when he saw the tears in Jackson’s eyes. “I know the kind of shit your mom told you about me, okay? She told you all the time about how I was a horrible person and I abandoned you and shit, but the truth is, she wouldn’t let me see you and I knew if I tried to fight her on it, it wouldn’t help because I wasn’t prepared to be a dad. I don’t have the slightest clue on how to be a father.” He laughed humorlessly. “God, your mom was a three-week-fling, Jackson,” he said, shaking his head. “I didn’t even _like_ her that much, but I moved back to Beacon Hills to live with my parents again, and I was just having a good time with a girl I met at a fucking bar, and when she got pregnant, my parents kicked me out because they knew I was going to end up being worthless like they already thought I was and they didn’t want to baby me. I guess they thought I’d suck it up and become a grown-up, but I was _twenty_ and I didn’t have a job and I didn’t know what to do.”

He looked at Jackson seriously. “Your mother didn’t even want child support from me because that meant I had parental rights to you. When I moved here, I had to basically _adopt_ you, because I never had any rights as your parent. Your mom let me send you post cards and emails and that’s it. If I had known she was going to fucking _abandon_ you one day, I’d have fought so much harder to get to see you and to take care of you.” He shook his head, a tear slipping loose. “I love you, Jackson. I have always loved you and I swear to God I hate your mother so much for leaving you, but I have never been happier than I am right now, okay?” He reached out and grabbed Jackson’s hand, heart breaking some when Jackson whimpered, reaching up with his other hand to wipe hard at his eyes. “I don’t know how to be your dad, but I _try_. I may suck at it, but I give you shit and let you do anything you want because I just want you to like me. All I want is for you to- to let me be your dad,” he choked out. “Six months of being with you has made me happier than I’ve ever been in my whole life, and it kills me that you don’t realize that.”

Jackson let out a choked sob. “I just-“ He sniffled. “I’m really sorry I scared you,” he whispered.

Peter laughed wetly. “God, you’re gonna be in so much trouble tomorrow, Jackson. Why the hell were you drinking somewhere you couldn’t get a ride home? That was so goddamn stupid.”

“I was upset,” Jackson admitted, sniffling. “Allison and I were talking about you and her dad having an affair and- and she says she doesn’t think you are, but it doesn’t _matter_ because I’ve seen you two, and you-“ He whimpered, letting out a sob. “I didn’t wanna keep thinking about how unfair it is that you love Allison’s dad after like three weeks but you don’t love _me_.”

Peter stood up and sat on the bed, pulling Jackson into a hug. “Oh Jackson,” he whimpered, holding him as he cried. He didn’t even try to not cry just as hard as Jackson was. “I promise you, I never have or ever will love anybody as much as I love you,” he promised, fingers clenched in the back of Jackson’s shirt as he held onto him.

He didn’t let go for quite a while.

~

When Jackson fell asleep, Peter came out to find Lydia. She was still sitting with Allison and Chris and he smiled when she sat up straight when he came out. “You guys should go home. Jackson’s fine, but he’s asleep.”

Chris stood up and nodded to the door. “Walk with us to the car?” he asked, and Peter nodded, hugging his arms as he followed. Allison and Lydia walked ahead, talking with each other more animatedly now that they were sure Jackson was okay. Chris hung back, walking alongside Peter. “Are you okay?” he asked in a soft tone, looking at his red-ringed eyes.

Peter groaned. “Chris, he was drinking alone because he thought I don’t love him,” he said and Chris stopped walking in surprise. 

Chris reached out and rubbed at his upper arm comfortingly. “Do you need a ride home?”

Peter shook his head. “I’m gonna stay with him tonight. Tomorrow we get to see how much trouble he’s in.”

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Chris offered instead. “It’s no problem to give you some support.”

Peter sighed. “Chris-“

“It’s not an issue, Peter. I just want you to be okay-“

“You’re _married_ ,” Peter said suddenly. Chris stilled and Peter gave him a heartbroken look. “You're married to someone else, Chris. I forget that sometimes because she's not here, but you have to stop making me feel these things I can't have.” He swallowed hard. “You’re… every bit the guy I fell in love with twenty years ago, Christopher, and it’s so easy to be with you and never want it to stop.” He shook his head. “But I can’t be the one that ruins your marriage, and the kids already think we’re having an affair.” Chris nodded and Peter could tell as his jaw worked that he agreed with Peter. Peter smiled the most broken smile he’d ever given as a tear slipped down his cheek. “It doesn't matter that you were mine first.” His voice broke and he shook his head. “Because you’re hers now.”

Chris gave him a watery smile and nodded. He reached up and cupped Peter’s cheek, wiping away his tear, before leaning in and pressing his lips to Peter’s forehead tenderly. “Goodnight, Peter,” he whispered before he stepped away and left Peter standing there as he followed the girls into the darkness. 

Peter took a shaky but fortifying breath and turned to head back inside. His place was at Jackson’s bedside and nowhere else.

~

Chris stared at his phone as he let Victoria’s call go to voicemail. He leaned back in his chair, head falling over the back of the chair as he ran his hands over his face, fingers settling over his mouth.

“Are you cheating on mom, Daddy?” Allison asked from the doorway. He didn’t even jump he was so lost. 

He laughed weakly, shaking his head. “No.” He looked at the fire. “Nothing has happened between Peter and me.”

Allison walked into the room and squished into the empty space beside his hip, legs going across his lap as she laid her head on his shoulder. “But you want it to, don’t you?”

Chris looked straight ahead and decided in that moment to be honest. He nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“Do you love mom?” she asked and he nodded quickly.

“Of course I do, Pumpkin-“

Allison stopped him, touching his hand. “Dad, I’m not little. You don’t have to lie to me,” she said, and he met her eyes for the first time since she entered the room. “You look at him in a way you’ve never looked at mom.”

Chris sighed, looking at his ring as he moved to curl his left arm around Allison. “I didn’t love your mom when we got married,” he admitted softly. “I met your mother right after I got divorced and we got along pretty well, and we’d only dated a few months when she got pregnant with you. I wanted a family. I wanted to get married and have kids and so did your mother, so we got married and moved to Texas to her parents’ hometown. We didn’t love each other but we were happy together. And you came and we both were so happy.” He smiled at her. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to either of us, Allison. We loved each other because we gave each other the family we both wanted. I love your mom, but the way you’d love anybody you spent nearly eighteen years of your life with. We have had a happy marriage because we get along really well and we’ve had a successful family.” He licked his lips, looking at the fire again. He raised his right hand and rubbed at his mouth. “I never-“ His voice cracked and he closed his eyes, breathing through his nose. “I never in a million years thought he would be here when we moved back. He left before the divorce was even finalized. I never- I thought I’d never see Peter again in my life.” He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. “I didn’t know I’d feel this way, either.” He wiped at his stinging eyes, shaking his head. “I’m sorry,” he said in a strained tone. “I’m so sorry, Allison. I forgot I could feel this way and I just-“ He shook his head, pressing his lips together. “I’m sorry.”

Allison slid her hand into the one on her side and squeezed it. “Dad, why did you and Peter ever split up if you loved each other?”

He laughed weakly. “Because we were stupid kids, Allison. We got married at the end of the school year and all summer we were happy, but I was in college and when the semester started, we both had jobs, and I had school, and we never got to see each other without one of us being tired from work and I was failing my classes because of how much I stressed about keeping a roof over our heads and Peter couldn’t go to college, we just couldn’t afford it. We were just so poor and struggled so hard and we started to resent each other for ruining each other’s life.” He shook his head. “After Christmas, we were fighting more than anything and by the end of spring semester, we were in so much debt and we were so bitter about it and he just had enough. He packed up and left and moved to Washington where his sister and her family had moved and that was it.” He shook his head. “We were so angry I didn’t miss him that much, honestly. I was so relieved to drop out of college and move away and then I almost immediately met your mom and our situation was so much better. Our life we built with you has been so good, and I’m so sorry I’m fucking it up-“

“Daddy,” Allison said with a serious enough tone that he stopped and looked at her. She smiled sadly, tears in her eyes. She petted his hair down where he’d shoed his hands through it. “I just want you to be happy.” She looked at him, her bottom lip trembling as she smiled. “Even if it’s not with Mom.”

Chris couldn’t help the way he broke down, head hanging towards his chest as he cried. Allison hugged him, and he couldn’t help but hug her close. Their family was falling apart, and his little girl was so fucking _strong_ that it blew his mind. He couldn’t imagine how he’d got so lucky to have such an amazing daughter.

~

When Chris called Victoria back, he knew as soon as she answered that Allison had finally broke and told her about Peter when she asked, “Is Peter Hale’s son alright?”

Chris sighed, leaning against the window as he looked out at the night sky. “Yeah. Jackson’s going to be fine.”

There was a long pause before she spoke again. “Are you sleeping with him?” she asked flat out.

“No,” Chris said honestly.

“Then why haven’t I heard he was there before now?” Victoria asked cautiously.

Chris chuckled weakly. “At first? I don’t know why I didn’t tell you. But I didn’t tell you I ran into him and Allison didn’t mention it to you when I explained my bisexuality and divorce, and after that, it seemed like it had been too long for it not to be suspicious. And now…”

“And now there’s a reason you didn’t want to tell me,” Victoria guessed and he smiled sadly. She was a smart woman. “You’re not sleeping with him, so why didn’t you want me to know?”

Chris felt a moment of panic before he felt a warmth filling him up that gave him the courage to speak the truth for the first time. “Because it’s something worse, Vic. I’m in love with him.” He had to get the whole truth out before she could interrupt. “I love you, you know that, but because you’re my partner and gave me my daughter. I forgot what it feels like to look at him and get that feeling in my gut that I’d be happy spending the rest of my life looking at that face. He’s still every bit the person I fell in love with all those years ago, only now we’re not stupid children. I maybe haven’t cheated on you, but I’ve spent so much time with Peter or with Peter and our kids and their friends that we’ve got inside jokes again. He’s the best thing about moving here,” he admitted. 

Victoria was quiet for a moment before he heard an audible sigh. “I knew when we met that you were still in love with someone else. I knew you were married and Kate told me later on that it was to a man, but I married you anyways, because even if you weren’t in love with me, you were a good husband to pick. I’ve never really been in love with you either, I don’t think. But we’ve had a great life, Chris.”

“I know,” he said sadly. “I’m sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I had no idea he’d be here.”

“I know you didn’t,” she said and he could hear the sympathy that was genuine in her tone. “Chris… maybe I should just stay here,” she said and he stood up straighter in surprise.

“Vic?”

She laughed tiredly. “Chris, I never wanted to move to Beacon Hills. Small towns aren’t my place. I don’t like your father, or your sister, and I enjoy being here in San Francisco.” She hesitated and Chris smiled sadly knowing what was coming. “Allison seems happier there than anywhere else we’ve lived. You love him. Maybe… maybe it’s for the best if we just call it a good run and go our separate ways.”

“But what about Allison?” Chris asked.

Victoria made a dismissive sound. “It’s not that far away. She can come see me on holidays and long weekends. Or I could come visit you guys. The truth is, I’ve dreaded leaving. I’ve taken so long to close things out here because I don’t want to make it end. I’m- I’m sad. Our family has been amazing,” she said, voice tight. “But really… I wasn’t going to be happy there. And you and I have been happy enough with each other, but if you love him the way you still loved him when we met, then I don’t want you to try to stay with me when it’ll just make us all miserable.”

Chris shook his head. “You’re where Allison gets it, you know? You’re both so strong and amazing. I’m sorry this happened.”

“Don’t be, Chris. Some things aren’t meant to be forever. What we had was _great_. But Allison isn’t a little girl anymore. She can see what’s best for us all. And if she likes Beacon Hills and he’s worth it, she’ll be better for having a happy dad.”

He smiled proudly. “She told me she just wanted me to be happy, even if it wasn’t with you,” he admitted and she laughed.

“See? She’s a smart kid.” She shuffled around on her end and he heard her exhale. “This is for the best, Chris. If you love him, tell him. If you guys are as close as it sounds, you both deserve it. How many people fall in love as dumb kids and end up finding love in each other again?”

Chris nodded. “Thank you, Victoria.”

“I’ll call the lawyer tomorrow. Get everything going to keep the house here for me and start working up divorce papers,” she said and Chris grinned to himself.

“You sure you don’t wanna sleep on it?” he asked, and she laughed.

“Nah. I need to stop the house going on the market fast and no reason to not get both things out of the way at once. You’re my best friend, Chris. This doesn’t change that,” she said and Chris smiled tearfully.

“You’re still the best person I know,” he said in a strained voice.

“Yeah, well, where do you think Allison got it from?” she asked. “I have one request. If you guys work out, I want to meet him one day. I’ve always been curious, and if he’s gonna be around my kid, I wanna know he’s worth it.”

Chris groaned. “Don’t get too excited yet. He’s the one that told me tonight I needed to stay away from him because I’m married and he can’t take being around me knowing it. He may not want to see me again. Especially if he thinks I dumped you for him.”

“Well if nothing else, he sounds like a good guy,” she said, making him smile

“He’s pretty great.”

.

**Epilogue**

Jackson ended up getting his license suspended until he was eighteen and he had to do community service at the children’s library for six months – a light sentence but what he described as his own personal hell – and Peter got to commit his first real ‘parenting’ act by grounding Jackson for a month.

Jackson complained less than Peter had expected he would, but he had a feeling Jackson liked having Peter act like a ‘real’ dad.

Jackson still called him ‘Peter’, not ‘Dad’, but after everything came out between them, they had been making attempts to reconcile their situation as best they could. Peter was happier than he ever had been when Jackson stopped treating him like the enemy all the time. He had even started letting Peter drive him to school, since he couldn’t drive, rather than get Danny or Lydia to pick him up.

When Peter pulled into the line to drop kids off, he saw Chris’s SUV pulling through the parking lot. He hadn’t spoken to Chris in the two weeks since the night at the hospital. He hadn’t realized how much he would miss him when he told him to stay away. He almost wished they could go back to being friends, no matter how bad it hurt to be near him.

“You know,” Jackson said, catching his attention. “Allison said her parents are getting divorced.” Peter jerked around, looking at him in surprise. Jackson was looking at the SUV as it pulled into a parking space. “She told Lydia that her mom decided she doesn’t want to leave San Francisco and that her parents decided it would be best if she stayed.” Jackson shrugged, trying to seem offhanded in his remarks. “Apparently they didn’t ever really ‘love’ each other, they got married because of Allison and lasted this long because they get along and worked together pretty well. She says she’s not that upset about it, since she’s only a four hour drive away from visiting her mom and both her parents will be happier this way.”

Peter gave him a look. “Jackson,” he said flatly and Jackson smiled knowingly.

“No really, something about her mom wishing her dad good luck with some guy he’s seriously into around here,” he said, grinning as he looked over at Peter. “No idea who that could be.”

Peter blushed, looking ahead. “You’re such a shit,” he said as they moved forward again. He stopped and Jackson laughed as he opened the door and climbed out.

“Really though, Dad, he seems pretty bummed lately. You should talk to him, see if you can help him out with his guy problems,” Jackson said with a wink before he shut the door and jogged off towards the school.

Peter was less distracted by Jackson’s implication than he was _ecstatic_ at what Jackson had called him.

~

Peter walked out of the coffee shop to sit outside, since it was a sunny morning in spite of the cold, only to stop when he saw someone already sitting at his usual table. “Chris,” he said in surprise.

Chris smiled up at him, pushing the other chair out with his foot. “Hey, Peter.”

Peter smiled nervously, fighting butterflies like he hadn’t felt in decades as he sat down across from Chris. “Hi.” He fidgeted with his scarf, looking at Chris’s relaxed, warm smile. “I haven’t seen you in a few weeks. Heard a lot’s happened,” he said, figuring he may as well get straight to it.

Chris’s smile widened to something more Important as he leaned forward, eyes locked with Peter’s. “I could go into this long rant about how meeting you again after so many years made me feel things I forgot were possible, Peter, but it’s cheesy and pointless, because I’m pretty sure you know exactly what I mean anyways, and since you clearly know I’m divorcing, I’d like to skip all that stuff and ask you a question.”

Peter blushed, biting his bottom lip. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Chris reached out, sliding his hand over Peter’s on the table. “Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

Peter grinned, happiness swelling up inside of him until he felt like he was going to burst. He started to stutter out a ‘yes’ before he remembered that was the exact same wording Chris had used the night they met and he asked him out. Peter smirked slyly and turned his hand over, sliding his fingers into Chris’s. “I dunno, Christopher, do you mean like a date?” he asked, mirroring his words from the first time. Chris didn’t seem to catch on so Peter winked. “I’m supposed to be home by ten these days.”

The minute Chris recognized what Peter was saying Peter laughed at the bright smile that crossed his face. “It’ll be worth your while, I promise,” he said, playing along.

Peter finally chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh I know it will, Chris.” He smiled softer. “Are you sure you don’t need some more time? I mean, you just split up with your wife, Chris.”

Chris scoffed. “Please, both Allison and her mother have been egging me on to call you and ask you out,” he said and Peter gave him a surprised smile.

“Wow, you must really like me to get that sort of pushiness,” he said, leaning his chin on his hand. 

Chris smiled, squeezing his fingers gently. “They want me to be happy. And I wanna be happy with you.”

Peter sucked in a breath, fighting the urge to do something crazy like shout ‘I love you!’ at Chris. Instead he slid his fingertip along Chris’s knuckles and nodded. “Going out would be nice, so yes. I’d love to.” He winked. “I wasn’t kidding about the ten o’clock thing, though. Jackson’s grounded and I have to be there to make sure he’s not skipping out.”

Chris laughed, eyes bright and happy in a way Peter would never get tired of as long as he lived. “Sounds good to me,” he agreed.

It was going to take a while for Peter to relax into the idea that he was _allowed_ to be this happy, but he looked forward into taking all the time he could to get used to having the man he loved and the son he was finally understanding both in his life at the same time.


End file.
